Towards the Sunset
by Roguie
Summary: Danger comes hunting Max and Logan... they try to run, but soon realize the only way to take care of the problem is to face it head on. REPOST from last year.
1. Part 1

OCTOBER 25, 2002: This story was taken down due to FF.NETs new regulations.. I am posting the revised version now because I was extremely proud of this fiction and want it where people can see it. Hope you all give it a second read and enjoy it as much as you seemed to the first go through. From here on out are the original authors notes and what not. Thanks! :D  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Well, folks, I'm back again. :P This poor little story started out far differently than it ended up, and definitely wasn't meant to be as long as it is, but hey, I'm a slave to my muse. LOL  
  
This is part one of fifteen. I hate editing my own stuff with a passion, but there's no way I'm inflicting this baby on any of my betas; I have too much respect for human life, namely my own. :P Therefore, one part per day will be posted for the next two weeks, thus giving me the opportunity to take the time needed to go over each part.  
  
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.  
  
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P  
  
They're not mine, I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P  
  
  
  
  
Towards the Sunset  
  
  
Part One: Fireworks  
  
  
By: Danae Bowen  
  
  
Email: logansfox@rogers.com  
  
  
  
  
Sweet soft lips she'd been too long denied. Max lost herself in the feel of Logan's gentle lips pressed against her own, shivers coursing through her entire body. She whimpered, pressing her body closer to his, feeling the full extent of his arousal. Her hips rolled in slow, devious circles, increasing his arousal, taking him higher with a gentle touch than any place he'd been before. Her breasts were flattened against his chest, her hardened nipples bringing gasps of pleasure to her lips as they rubbed against the fabric of her shirt. Nothing had ever felt quite like this to Max; the man in her arms made all the difference.  
  
He groaned in her ear as his lips trailed across her cheek to nibble on her lobe. His fingers tangled in her hair, pulling back her head, exposing her neck for his inquisitive mouth. Her sigh weakened the beat of his heart as his tongue found the slight hollow in her throat, dipping in, tasting her, savoring the flavor that was so uniquely Max. He couldn't describe it, all he knew is that he wouldn't be complete without tasting her again. She could feel his smile against her skin as his teeth claimed nibbling bites upon her throat, his tongue gentling away the pressure moments after. His lips devoured her soft flesh while Max moaned beneath him, her fingers gripping the edges of his shirt, shoving him away while she pulled the material from his chest.  
  
She allowed herself a moment to gaze down his body with appreciation, taking in his hard, well formed muscles, the rise and fall of his chest as he struggled to control his breathing, and if she listened hard enough she could even hear his heart beating faster than she thought possible. Her flesh burned for him as her fingers found the hard planes of his chest, making him groan her name desperately.  
  
"Max..."  
  
His lips found hers again, and her eyes closed, the darkness increasing the sensations on her body. She shivered and whimpered, her nails digging into his shoulders as her knees grew weak. His tongue delved deep into her mouth, his hands sliding down to cup her buttocks as again he found the will to whisper her name.  
  
"Max..."  
  
She slid her eyes open expecting to meet the crystalline blue of her soon to be lover's gaze. Instead, chocolate brown eyes met her own.  
  
"Hey, boo, thought you might want the real thing 'stead of just a bomb dream. Your boy's here to see ya, so get your sorry ass outta that bed 'fore I let him know exactly where your mind was takin' ya."  
  
Max groaned, her head falling back onto her pillow as she waved Original Cindy away. "Tell him I'm naked and can't see him."  
  
Cindy laughed. "Tell him yourself, boo. You not out there in five minutes, I'm sending the boy in. On second thought..." She turned to the door. "Hey, Logan, Max says she'll wait for you here, so get your lily white ass movin'." She turned and winked at Max, lifting an eyebrow at the skintight gray tank top and matching gray panties Max was wearing. "Just savin' ya from yourself, girl. I leave things up to you, you'd end up cashin' in the food stamps of love. You don't want him to get an eye full, you'd best use all those powers o'yours and get dressed. As for Original Cindy, I'm outta here. A fine girl moved in two blocks down, 'n I think Original Cindy should be the welcome wagon. Late, boo."  
  
Max's jaw dropped in shock as she watched Cindy turn and head out of her room. Her sensitive hearing picked up her friend's goodbye to Logan, as well as the sound of the exoskeleton whirring as Logan headed in Max's direction.  
  
"Shit!" Not even left with the time to revel in the after glow of her dream, Max hauled herself to her feet and quickly grabbed a pair of jeans off her bedroom floor. Logan could handle the tank top, but she was fairly sure greeting him in her panties was not what he'd be expecting.  
  
She heard a soft gasp from her doorway just as she was doing up the zipper and clasp on her jeans. When she turned, Logan's eyes were diverted to the ground and Max felt a soft red staining her cheeks. Brushing it off, she leaned against her dresser and waited for him to get over whatever he'd managed to see.  
  
Logan for his part was trying to not dwell upon the sweet expanse of golden skin that had been filling his vision only moments before. From the devious look on Cindy's face, he knew he should have waited for confirmation from Max, but he couldn't resist the request to enter her bedroom. As many times as Max had been in his own bedroom, Logan had only been in hers the one time, almost two years ago, when he left her the statue of Bast. Hell, he could count the number of times he'd been in her apartment on one hand. He wondered quietly, for a moment, why their relationship was so one sided. Max came and went freely from his life, his home and, yes, his bedroom, although nothing had come of her frequent midnight visits. Logan never argued and had never suggested meeting here. Perhaps it was the differences in their lifestyles, he causally thought, as he lifted his eyes to glance over her body. His gaze lingered over her golden breasts resting comfortably behind the tight tank top in which she'd obviously just slept. Logan's tongue darted over his lips as he forced his gaze to rise once more, finally coming to rest on Max's face.   
  
Her eyes showed amusement as she casually leaned against the dresser, obviously waiting for some sort of response from him. He floundered, searching his mind to see if she'd said anything since he walked into the room.  
  
"I'm sorry, Max, did you say something?" His grin was sheepish as he waited for her reply.  
  
She shrugged, stretching her long arms out in a fluidic motion as she eased out her sleep stiffened muscles. "Nope, was just waiting for the end of the ogling so we could get down to why you're here."  
  
In the middle of her stretch, his eyes were drawn back to her breasts, and his hands clenched at his sides. "Uh..."   
  
Max rolled her eyes and walked forward until she stood only a foot in front of him. She raised an eyebrow and cocked one hip out to the side, bringing her arms up to cross over her chest. "What's the matter, didn't hit puberty 'till five minutes ago? C'mon, Logan, snap outta it."  
  
When he finally gathered himself together enough to divert his thoughts from increasingly erotic endings to their current situation, he had the good grace to blush. "Sorry to stop by without calling."  
  
"Over that. Onto why now." Her eyes twinkled their amusement, although she did file away Logan's behavior for future ammunition.  
  
"Right. Just got back from Sebastian's. He's analyzed your latest blood sample."  
  
Max waited a moment before lifting an eyebrow in frustration. "And?"  
  
His eyes sparkled brilliantly, "Came back clear. The Viral Antagonist has destroyed all traces of the retrovirus as far as Sebastian can tell."  
  
"As far as he can tell?" She frowned. "What does that mean exactly?"  
  
He shrugged, giving her a slow smile. "Means it's up to us to test it out."  
  
Max's face fell slightly as she took a step back from Logan. "And if Sebastian's missed something, and the virus isn't gone?"  
  
"C'mon, Max, this is Sebastian we're talking about. The man I trusted to talk me into electrifying your brain, remember?"  
  
Max sighed and pushed past Logan, careful that her fingers only touched the material of his sweater. She headed for her living room and collapsed back on her sofa. "It's not that I don't trust Sebastian, Logan, but what happens if someone on his team made a mistake? What happens if I touch you and you get sick again? There's no antigen and Sebastian wouldn't have the time to come up with a new one before you died. I'm not ready to take that risk."  
  
Logan sighed and sat down beside her, his fingers resting on her knee. "We have to take the chance at some point, Max. Otherwise, why are we here?"  
  
His hand rose, slowly moving towards her face. A lock of her long, dark hair had fallen across her cheek, and it would be so simple to just reach out and brush it away. He smiled softly when she didn't flinch, his fingers only inches from her skin, and then less space separated them. He was so close to her flesh that he could feel the heat radiating off of her, and in one moment more, the wait would be over.  
  
The explosion that rocked Max's body, however, had nothing to do with Logan's fingers. In an instant, Max grabbed a hold of Logan's shirt, hauling him to the ground and covering his back with her body. The windows of the apartment blew inwards, sending deadly shards of glass flying down on top of them. Max buried her face in Logan's shirt, protecting her eyes as she waited for the sharp rainfall to end.  
  
A second explosion caused the floor to rock beneath them, and finally, Logan looked up.  
  
"We gotta get outta here." Max leaped to her feet, and scanned the neighborhood through the destroyed window. "Keep low and head for the stairs. I don't know what's going on, but this building's gonna fall if it keeps shakin'."  
  
"What about you?" Logan was on his feet, head down, and making his way towards the door.  
  
Max was half way to her bedroom to change into her cat suit. "Recon." She forced a smile. "Gonna see if I can get some first hand info for Eyes Only." Without thinking, Max had popped the buttons on her jeans and was hopping into the darkness of the next room as she pulled them off.   
  
"Max..."  
  
"Go on! I'll meet you at your place in a few hours."  
  
His eyes blazed worry as she returned, her glance carrying to the window as she zipped up her leather bodice. "Max, be careful."  
  
"Same back, Logan. We don't know what's out on the streets, so take it easy." She smiled at him as they entered the hallway and for a moment she let her hand rest against his arm. "Two hours."   
  
"Don't be late. We have a conversation to finish." His voice was soft and once again his fingers came up, this time to stroke her cheek. She froze instantly, turning to look at him in surprise. He smiled. "Just checking."  
  
Max shivered, searching his eyes for any sign of trouble. Her relief was evident as his gaze met hers unerringly, and she nodded. "Gotta blaze."  
  
Logan watched her slip up the stairs leading to the roof. Whatever Max had to do would take less time if she knew he was on his way home to safety.  
  
What met his eyes when he stepped outside was the destruction of a building across the road from Max's apartment. It had crumbled in its dilapidation, although from the force of the explosions, Logan suspected that it had been brought down on purpose. His car was parked several blocks down from Max's, and mercifully escaped any damage. Once behind the wheel, Eyes Only began to take over and thoughts of who, what, and why spun through Logan's mind.  
  
Of course, that didn't stop the pleasant smile from creeping across his lips, as thoughts of finally brushing against Max's flesh were never far away. First, they'd figure out what happened in the streets. Second, they'd figure out what happened in the hallway and everything that it meant.  
  
Logan's grin spread as he drove away from Max's sector and back to the penthouse. With any luck, this mission wouldn't take very long.  
  
End Part One: Fireworks 


	2. Part 2

A/N: Thanks for all your great reviews. :) You keep a girl's heart light. :) Here is, as promised, the second part of fifteen. Hope you all enjoy. :)  
  
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.  
  
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P  
  
They're not mine, I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P  
  
  
  
Towards The Sunset  
  
  
Part Two: Hanging Around  
  
  
By: Danae Bowen  
  
  
Email: logansfox@rogers.com  
  
  
  
Not surprisingly, by the time Max got to the demolished building and glanced around, a group of at least a hundred people had gathered, preventing her ability to scan out the guilty parties. For a moment she concentrated on the crowd, her sensitive hearing picking up single conversations trying to learn anything that would help her, but there was nothing. As far as Max could tell, the people responsible were long gone. Perhaps even before they hit the detonator.  
  
She sighed, deciding that scanning the crowd would be useless, so instead she slipped beyond the sector cops and fire fighters and disappeared behind a large wall of rubble. Cautiously, Max picked her way through the chaos, searching for any clue as to what had happened. When it came down to trouble in Seattle, especially striking so close to her home, Max didn't trust the sector cops to find the culprits. She'd rather have her hands on any clues possible and there was only one man Max trusted to be entirely honest.  
  
Still, trusting someone with clues and finding clues were entirely different problems. Not willing to run the risk of being caught, Max returned to the crowd, hanging back until the group had thinned and the police and fire people began to return to their bases. Thankfully, with the dilapidation in the neighborhood, the building had been long since abandoned. Max knew for a fact there had been a raid on the building two days before, sector cops coming in and pulling out the people that illegally resided within. At the time she'd thought little of it, but as the thought struck her while she was standing in the dwindling crowd, she turned to peer at her own building.  
  
It occurred to her then that her own building hadn't been raided. Her brow furrowed in thought as she forced herself to think back to the last time they'd been checked in on by the sector police. It hadn't been since the day Logan made a point of defending her territory. She glanced back to the building in a pile, and cocked her head. The job looked to be professional. Surrounding buildings hadn't been harmed by falling debris, so the explosives had obviously been placed at pre-scouted weak points in the building structure. So what was the point?  
  
With a deep frown, Max eased out of the now tiny crowd and swiftly lifted a passing cop's identification. Sector 7. With a shrug, Max slipped back across the road to her place, and quickly brought her bike out to the streets. She gunned the engine, allowing the powerful machine to purr between her legs, before she began to follow the police back to their station. If any information was available, she'd no doubt that it would still be hard copy and much easier to slide off someone's desk.  
  
*****  
  
Logan entered his penthouse silently and made his way directly towards his computer room. In an instant the machines were humming quietly as they began to boot and Logan settled into his chair. He wasn't sure quite yet what it was he was looking for. If the explosion had been any regular terrorist attack, he was positive one of his contacts would have let him know earlier that it had been in the making. Besides, why would someone want to blow up an abandoned building?  
  
He shook his head, taking a moment to run his fingers through his hair. The coincidence of this happening close enough to affect Max's home disturbed him. Thoughts of Manticore, or White, or even an escapee searching to call out Max ran through his mind, and left him pulling off his glasses to lightly rub his temples. He and Max had faced a lot of issues over the past two years, but none of them had ever really struck so close to home. Well, with the exception of Zack, and to tell the truth, he was an anomaly.  
  
Logan quickly scanned for messages from any of his contacts, finding useful information in other endeavors, but nothing regarding the unceremonious destruction of a building in Max's sector. The lack of information worried Logan more than the act itself. Usually his informants had information on everything in the city either before or instants after it went down; to be greeted with silence made the entire mess that much more suspicious.  
  
Shrugging, Logan typed up a query letter and dropped feelers out with his most common informants. If any of them knew anything, Logan felt sure they'd come through for him. Eyes Only took care of his informants at all times; if it was at all possible, they'd not let him down.  
  
With a sigh, Logan pushed away from the desk and made his way into the kitchen. If Max was going to be dropping by soon, it would serve him well to have dinner prepared in advance. His girl was always in some stage of starvation, peeking into the fridge, lifting fruit, or looking down right pathetic if he didn't have something cooking when she arrived. He chuckled and shook his head; Max was a species all in herself; he'd never quite understand what her body did with the high caloric intake of her diet, but it served him well to cave in. He'd learned in the past that not feeding Max was a dangerous, albeit interesting, habit in which he'd ought not indulge.  
  
Logan had spent a fortune on the preparations for dinner. Originally, it was meant to be their celebratory dinner for the cure of the virus, so he'd spared no expense. Although, it was difficult to find exactly what he'd wanted on the market, he did have his ways. All in all, Logan took out the two perfect steaks, setting them to the side while beginning to prepare the vegetables. They were to have filet mignon with mushrooms, herb and garlic mashed potatoes, cream corn, and a special Cale family recipe gravy. He set aside his favorite pre-pulse red wine, one he'd put away for the day he and Max finally came to their senses, and glanced at the clock.  
  
An hour had passed since he'd left Max's; presumably she was to arrive within the following hour. Knowing Max well, however, Logan took his time with the preparations. He took long minutes rinsing the extremely hard to find mushrooms, cleaning them one at a time, before removing their stems and chopping them into the perfect size. Next he peeled the potatoes, taking care that each potato was relatively the same size for even cooking. He dropped them into the water, setting the heat low so that the potatoes would cook slowly. No need to rush Max; once the vegetables were ready, their steaks would take no more than ten minutes to finish. When the corn was set to cook, and the potatoes were boiling, Logan glanced up at the clock once again. Forty minutes had passed while he was taking his time, and Max was due at any moment. Very carefully, Logan began to heat a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter in a pan, waiting for the butter to melt nicely before dropping in the mushrooms and beginning the sauté. When no more than three or four minutes had passed, he removed the mushrooms and set them to the side.   
  
The question now became, should he wait for some confirmation from Max that she'd be on time, or should he risk beginning to heat the steaks? He frowned and bit his lip, leaning slightly against the counter. Silently he counted off the minutes, waiting until five minutes before Max should be arriving before deciding to continue with his preparations. Even if she were a few minutes late, the steaks would stay warm and fresh. He hoped.  
  
Dropping the filet mignon into the pan the mushrooms had vacated, his eyes flicked over to check on the potatoes. //Perfect.// Pulling the pot off the burner, he drained the water and began the process of mashing, always keeping his eyes on the very expensive steaks.  
  
When the steaks were ready, at that perfect place where they just began to sweat juice, Logan removed them from the heat, and set them with the mushrooms. The last steps were to cream the corn, and make his special gravy. Again his eyes flickered to the clock. //Okay, she's only five minutes late, we can work with this.//  
  
When another ten minutes had passed and all the food was prepared, Logan began to get nervous. //What could she be doing?//  
  
*****  
  
Max groaned as the blood rushed to her brain, her body beginning to ache as she hung upside down outside a window at the sector 7 station. It figured, the one night she had an in and out mission, and the cops had to hang around the station. She had begun to lose track of time, and little black lines were beginning to strike across her vision. All in all, Max was getting annoyed.  
  
When at last the sector police found something better to do than hang around their desks, Max sighed with relief and silently lowered herself through the window. Judging by the volume of voices, she knew she only had minutes to find the hard copy of the investigation before the cops returned. Quickly, she began shuffling through papers on desks, searching for a case file with the right address on it. When the first four desks turned up nothing and the voices grew louder in the hallway, Max's hands curled into fists and she had to force herself to remain calm.   
  
Two desks later, Max's fingers curled around the file containing whatever information the cops had uncovered from the explosion. Max lifted her eyebrow in an act of non-amusement as she took in exactly how thin the file was. Obviously while she spent two hours hanging upside down waiting for this, the sector cops did their usual amount of investigation: nothing. She sighed, reached out the window, and took hold of the rope she'd left hanging for her moment of escape.  
  
Stuffing the file down the front of her cat suit, Max gripped onto the rope with both hands and scaled quickly to the roof, grateful her presence had gone as yet unnoticed. She gathered her gear and made her way to the ground in silence. Her bike had her back at her building in a short amount of time, and finally Max was able to climb the stairs to her apartment. Once inside, she sighed and began to peel herself out of the cat suit, dropping the file to the kitchen counter as she passed it by.  
  
Half way out of the tight leather pants, Max's eyes trailed to her clock, mercifully undisrupted by the days events, and she sighed. She'd missed her two-hour promise to Logan by almost thirty minutes. She still needed to grab a shower and change before heading to the penthouse, not to mention wanting a chance to flip through the file. Max chewed her lower lip as she peered at the phone with trepidation.  
  
//It's just Logan. As long as I call, he won't care if I'm late.//  
  
Still, her fingers dialed his number slowly.  
  
"Max?"  
  
She rolled her eyes as she caught the tinge of worry in his voice. "Yeah, it's me."  
  
"You were supposed to be here a half hour ago, where are you?"  
  
She shrugged even though the gesture was lost over the phone. "Got hung up getting some info we need. Gotta take a quick shower then I'll head over. Cool?"  
  
She heard the hesitation before he answered her, his voice betraying a sense of defeat. "Yeah, take your time."  
  
Max frowned, sitting on her bed, curling her legs up beneath her. "Logan, is something wrong?"  
  
Again the hesitation. "No. Look, I'll see you when you get here. Just let yourself in."  
  
"Yeah. I always do." She paused. "Logan..." She heard the click of the receiver and then only a dial tone met her ears. "Whatever."  
  
Her steps were heavy as she made her way to the bathroom, stripping out of her remaining clothing. As she jumped into the shower, wincing at the cool temperature of the water, Max refused to admit she was hurt by Logan's strange behavior. Three hours before, he'd been all over her, wanting to risk his life just for the chance to brush away her hair. She wondered quietly what had changed while she'd been gone, but brushed it off.  
  
"Chill, Max. Men're idiots. Whatever bug's up his ass'll probably crawl out 'fore you even get there."  
  
Her voice in the tiny bathroom did little to comfort her suddenly on edge nerves. She was under enough emotional stress trying to figure out exactly what she wanted to do about their suddenly virus free relationship, she didn't need Logan's mood swings making things worse.  
  
****  
  
Logan hung up the phone and sighed. He realized that he hadn't done a very good job hiding his disappointment, especially when it was Max to whom he'd try to lie. She always seemed to pick up on his emotions, even over the telephone.   
  
Still, he turned to look at his specially prepared, overly expensive dinner, and closed his hands into fists. Twice now Max had managed to ruin a surprise to which he'd looked forward to treating her. Oh, dinner would still be here when she arrived in an hour. It'd be a little too dry for Logan's tastes, but he knew Max would hardly notice. She'd breeze into the penthouse, have dinner, and when he tried to get close, she'd go abruptly business like. He could actually see the events of the next few hours unfolding in his mind's eye.  
  
He shook his head and set his dinner in the oven to reheat as once again he began waiting for Max to arrive. He knew that even with the virus gone, in the time they'd been separated by it Max had managed to rebuild some of her walls. Perhaps, he figured, being late was her subconscious way of distancing them once again.   
  
"What're you doing to yourself, Logan?" He poured himself a glass of wine and leaned against the island in his kitchen.   
  
He'd no doubt that he'd forgive her for tonight within moments of her arrival. His heart just wasn't strong enough to withstand her sweet smile or her beautiful dark eyes. All she'd have to do is pull her lip between her teeth and his world would be right once more, but damnit, they were going to have a hard enough time working things out on an emotional level without her adding to their problems by putting things off.  
  
"What is it with women anyway?" he asked his clock as he took one final glance at the time. With no answers seemingly forth coming, Logan shrugged and moved to the living room. What was he getting himself into?  
  
End Part Two: Hanging Around 


	3. Part 3

A/N: Here you go, folks, part three of fifteen. :) Hope you all enjoy. ;)   
  
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.  
  
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P  
  
They're not mine, I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P  
  
  
  
Towards the Sunset  
  
  
Part Three: Crashing Down  
  
  
By: Danae Bowen  
  
  
Email: logansfox@rogers.com  
  
  
  
When Max finally walked through Logan's door, the first thing to assault her senses was the undeniably mouth watering scent of the penthouse. She couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was she smelled, all she knew was that her stomach growled loudly and she had to resist the urge to go straight to his kitchen for a sample.  
  
"Knock, knock."  
  
She leaned against the doorframe wondering what was going through Logan's mind as he glared out the window, completely ignoring the television humming behind him. She watched as his shoulders stiffened as if he were bracing himself before turning to face her. She frowned. She had known something was wrong during their phone conversation, but Logan had never braced himself in her presence before. At least not since their strange employer/employee relationship grew into friendship... and more. She sighed softly as he finally turned to face her and, even from across the room, Max couldn't miss the smothered disappointment burning in his eyes. Furrowing her brow, wondering exactly what it was she'd done, Max walked deeper into the room and flashed him a tentative smile.  
  
"My nose tells me you're ready to feed me." She grinned teasingly, trying to bring out the lighter side of Logan. "Food before being serious, Logan. C'mon."  
  
He gave her a small smile, the first step in the night his overly rational mind had created coming into reality, making his eyes dim further. "Yeah, it's a little overcooked, but should be fine. I was expecting you over an hour ago, so it's not my best work."  
  
She lifted her eyebrow, realization dawning in her eyes as she began to figure out Logan's problem. //He's upset because dinner is overcooked??? Men!// "No big dealio, I'm so hungry I probably won't even notice." She flashed him another smile. "You wouldn't believe what I had to go through to get this file." She pulled the file out of the back pocket of her jeans and dropped it on the coffee table.  
  
"Anything in it we can use?" Logan slipped into business mode as he moved to the kitchen. He began setting the food on the plates, carrying them to the dining room table. He relit the candles he had extinguished earlier and dimmed the lights. No matter how he may feel about this evening now, his original plan had been a good one, and he'd be damned if he was going to give up on it because, as usual, Max had been late. In the back of his mind he wondered when he had become this petty; he was used to Max running behind schedule and it had never bothered him before. Not really. It wasn't like recon was a nine to five job, his mind insisted on explaining. He sighed. It was too confusing trying to figure out why things that never bothered him before now became a matter of annoyance, or why Max's regular routine now disappointed him.  
  
She settled down into her regular seat and waited for Logan to pour their wine and sit beside her before digging into her dinner. They ate in silence, but Logan's mood began to lift as he watched her. Since gaining her freedom, Max had learned to savor small pleasures. Everything he'd ever cooked for her was consumed with gusto and appreciation, making the amateur chef inside him stand tall with pride. He had to admit, as he ate his own dinner, the steaks hadn't come out as poorly as he'd expected. That helped his mood lighten further, and by the end of dinner he found himself laughing at Max's exploits of the day. She scowled at him as he chuckled, but her eyes betrayed the warmth that flooded through her now that all was right with Logan once more.  
  
"So I ended up hanging there for almost the entire two hours. Aren't cops supposed to go out for donuts every hour or something?" Her eyes twinkled, letting him know she really wasn't upset.  
  
He chuckled, picking up their empty plates and returning them to the kitchen. "I guess they forgot about cat burglary etiquette. You know, that rule that says to make sure to leave all possible information of interest out where any one can pick it up."  
  
"Funny, Logan." Max tossed a good-natured frown in Logan's direction. "So you got dessert too, or does a girl gotta make her own?"  
  
"Ah, I knew you'd not be satisfied with my gourmet creations." He flashed her a smile as he popped his head back into the room. "I have something I'd be willing to bet you've never tried before."  
  
Max was on her feet in an instant, prowling towards the kitchen. "Is it rich?"  
  
"Extremely." Logan backed away from her, grinning from ear to ear.  
  
"Creamy?"  
  
"It'll melt on your tongue." He took up a defensive position in front of his fridge. "Are you planning on going through me to get to it, Max, or do I get to serve it to you?"  
  
She growled softly, considering pulling Logan out of the way, not wanting to end one of the teasing moments of which they'd had so few in the last months. Still, the fear of what may happen should she touch him intruded, and she eased away, leaning back against his kitchen island, pouting at him softly.   
  
He grinned as he used his back to shield her view and pulled from the fridge a fresh New York style cheesecake. He could feel Max's presence at his back as her insatiable curiosity got the better of her and she slinked up behind him, trying to get a better view. Sensing her moves as she made them, Logan managed to stay in front of her as he placed a slice of the cake onto a plate before turning around to face her. He'd not expected her to be standing mere inches behind him and had to react quickly to keep from knocking the cake to the floor, off her arm.  
  
Before he realized what had happened, Max's nimble fingers relieved him of the plate and she'd stepped backwards. She looked at the dessert for a moment before picking off a small corner of the cake and popping it into her mouth. Her face glowed with pleasure, her eyes darkening as the rich, creamy treat melted on her tongue. "Oh, God." She moaned quietly. "Logan, what is this? It's incredible!"   
  
She'd slid her small body onto the island and retrieved a fork that he'd laid out earlier. In moments she was digging into her slice with barely a thought to Logan's presence. He laughed softly, turning back to cut his own slice before leaning against the island and joining her in enjoying the dessert. "Cheesecake, Max. I found it at the market this morning and couldn't resist picking it up. I knew you'd like it."  
  
She nodded with a smile. "I've never had anything like this before. Logan, you've done some amazing things in the time I've known you, but damn!"  
  
Before she realized what had happened, Logan's hand dropped to her knee and was caressing her softly. She tensed suddenly and pulled away, slipping to the floor. Her eyes met his warily, darkening as the pleasure fled from her features. Logan's face fell and he stepped back, away from her personal space.  
  
"Sorry," he mumbled, casting his eyes to the floor.  
  
"No big." Her voice was soft but she placed her plate on the counter and glanced at the door. "I gotta blaze. Original Cindy's probably trippin' about the explosion 'n everything."  
  
"Yeah." He didn't raise his eyes as he felt her begin to move away.  
  
She paused, biting her lower lip as she shifted her weight uneasily. "Think you'll get a look at that file tonight?"  
  
He nodded. "Yeah, I've got nothing else to do now."  
  
His words were like a slap in the face and Max's eyes blazed hurt. "Logan…"  
  
"Just go, Max. I'll page you if I find anything that needs your particular touch."  
  
"Right. Leg work." She paused again, not wanting to leave him with his eyes so shadowed over in yet another display of disappointment. "I need time."  
  
"Don't worry. I probably won't need you until tomorrow if I do find anything. Judging by the size of the file, the cops didn't get much done. It'll take my contacts some time to come up with any information that'll be useful." He turned his back to her and began pouring water to do the dishes.  
  
"Not that." She hesitated and frowned. "I need time to know this is gonna work, Logan. I've spent so much time afraid to touch you, I can't just get over that in one night."  
  
Finally, he turned. "I did."  
  
She sighed, running her hands through her hair in frustration. When she spoke, her voice was cold and bitter. "Yeah, well, I'm not you, am I? I'm just some mutated strand of DNA that a coupla freaks made into a soldier, so you'll have to forgive me if I'm not gonna fall into your arms at the first sign of hope."  
  
"It's not hope, Max, it's a cure." He took one step forward, but stopped again, far out of her reach. "I'd be dead now if Sebastian had been wrong. You can't deny that."  
  
She muttered something Logan swore had been, "I can try," before she swung back towards the door. "You got my number. Call me when you get something."  
  
"Yeah." He waited for the sound of the door closing behind her before he brought his hands to his face, smoothing back his hair in muted irritation. "Well, that could have gone better."   
  
Leaving the dishes to soak, Logan picked up the police file and returned to his computer room. If spending the night with Max was out of the question, he figured he might as well lose himself in his alter ego for a few hours before going to bed.  
  
Somehow sleep didn't seem as inviting when Max wasn't going to be in his bed.  
  
*****  
  
"Smooth, Max, really smooth. Can tell Manticore didn't bother with lessons in delicacy. Could've handled that better, girl."  
  
Max verbally berated herself as she rode the darkened streets of Seattle, her bike purring beneath her, heading for home. She hadn't planned on backing off as quickly as she had, but the thought of being able to touch Logan again terrified her. This is what they'd been fighting for, everything they'd worked towards for the last eight months of their lives, but suddenly having it given to her caused her walls to slam back into place.  
  
Making a sudden turn, Max decided she wasn't ready to go home and have Original Cindy drag out of her all the gory details of the night, so she headed for Crash. At least there she'd have her peeps, cold beer, and maybe she could find some hotboy to reduce to tears when she shot him down.  
  
Walking through the door at Crash, Max was instantly assaulted by Sketchy as he attempted to balance three pitchers of beer in his arms as his body weaved. It was still early, but Sketchy had already passed from amusingly drunk to fully intoxicated. Max sighed, and resisted the urge to give him a slap in the head. If Sketchy had that much beer, obviously Alec was hanging around and dolling out large amounts of cash once more.  
  
"Sketchy, you idiot, you're gonna drip all over me. Gimme those." Max took two pitchers out of his arms, and stepped away from him. "Do you realize how hard it is to get beer out of real leather?"  
  
"Sorry, Max." His words were mumbled and slightly slurred together.   
  
"Yeah, yeah, I'll kick your ass tomorrow when you're sober and it's more fun." She glanced around the front room quickly. "Peeps in the back?"  
  
Sketchy didn't have time to reply, however, as a deafening explosion rocked the bar, throwing him forward into Max's back, the pitchers of beer flying out of their hands as Max struggled to maintain balance. She watched in shock as one of the sidewalls in the bar crumbled away, sending bricks and dust scattering out over the crowd. She braced herself for a second explosion, but when nothing happened after several moments, she untangled herself from Sketchy and quickly began to search for the doer. She ignored the calls of people around her as everyone ran for the exits at the same time, climbing over rubble to get themselves to perceived safety.  
  
Again, as she sifted through bricks and dust, Max was unable to find anything that would help either her or Logan get closer to the bomber. Obviously the person responsible hadn't been out to harm anyone, since whatever took out the wall had done it in such a measure that the main supports remained standing, holding up the roof. However hitting Crash was a definite step up from the attack on the apartment building earlier, if the doers were the same person. Still, Max had a feeling that the same person was responsible even if she had no proof to back it up; it was too much of a coincidence that both her home and her hangout were attacked in the same day. Something was definitely up.  
  
Five minutes later, after having found absolutely nothing helpful, Max realized her jacket and jeans were dripping and her mind flipped back to the beer she'd been carrying. A quick sniff at her jacket confirmed the worst, and Max groaned. "That's it. I'm gonna kill someone."  
  
She shook her head. Logan had once told her about something he called "Murphy's Law": "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong". Max found herself wondering for how long that law applied.  
  
End Part Three: Crashing Down 


	4. Part 4

A/N: You know what? You guys are all awesome! I appreciate every review y'all've given me like you wouldn't believe. :) This is part four of fifteen. About this point I got sick of messing with Logan and Max's minds... so consider the rest of this basically what *I* want to see happen. LOL! Oh, the story is all still there... but I went my own shipper friendly way. :P Face it, I'm incapable of writing for any length of time without making it smut. LOL Ah, well, it's all safe for a while yet... just shipper friendly. :P  
  
Just as a side note regarding tomorrow night's posting (Saturday, Dec. 1), it may be a bit later than normal as I'm going to get a new puppy tomorrow night, and the little mutt is an hour out of town. By the time I get off work, pick up my best and the kids, go get the puppy, get us all home, introduce Logan-pup to my 3 y/o dog, Maq, among the rest of my zoo, AND get settled in with our new addition... it's gonna be late. LOL I do, however, promise, that no matter how late it may be, part five will be posted at some point tomorrow night. :P  
  
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.  
  
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P  
  
They're not mine; I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P  
  
  
  
Towards The Sunset  
  
  
Part Four: You and What Army?  
  
  
By: Danae Bowen  
  
  
Email: logansfox@rogers.com  
  
  
Max stood outside Logan's door for long moments, contemplating her decision to return. She hadn't called to inform Logan about the explosion at Crash, instead she'd made sure her peeps were okay and got Sketchy home safely. Now, two hours later, she wondered if Logan had had enough time to cool down. She wasn't looking forward to continuing their conversation, especially since she still had little to no grip on why she was so afraid to just give in and try like Logan wanted. Thing was, being able to touch meant being able to kiss, kissing meant making love, making love meant commitment, at least to Logan. They'd gone through this runaround for over a year, then everything was put on the back burner to find a cure, and now Max found herself wanting the runaround back again. At least when they were playing at hiding their emotions, they had some measure of safety. The kisses during her last virus free heat in Seattle, however, destroyed their safety buffer. Max didn't deny the fact she wanted to fall into Logan's arms and let him make all the bad things go away, even if it was for only a short while. She didn't deny that she wanted his kisses and his touch almost more than her fear was able to withstand. She also couldn't deny that her fear of hurting him was overwhelming her.   
  
//But isn't that what you're doing right now?//   
  
She bowed her head, resting against the doorframe, as she had to admit her conscience was right. She was hurting Logan by pushing him away, by not letting him touch the future he'd been so easily able to see. She was hurting herself at the same time. Her fingers came up to rub her head, stroking her flesh in a vain attempt to ease the pain that burned within. She was going to walk through those doors and she knew Logan would look up, his eyes asking her questions that she couldn't yet answer to even herself. She only hoped he had enough strength to trust her and let her work through her issues; all she needed was a little more time.  
  
Max drew in a deep breath, forcing her face into a calm neutral expression as she quietly picked the lock on his door and stepped inside. She raised her eyebrow as she peeked into the kitchen and realized their dinner dishes were still soaking. A few steps further revealed that he wasn't in the living room. With a shrug, Max altered her direction and headed for the computer room. Sure enough, he sat in front of his monitors, his long fingers flying across the keyboard as he typed out an email. Resisting the urge to peek over her shoulder, Max leaned on the doorframe and watched him for a few quiet moments.  
  
//Please, Logan. Just give me time. I won't leave you again.//  
  
"Knock, knock."  
  
Logan didn't turn; his only acknowledgement of her arrival was the pause in his typing for a brief moment, before the endless clicking of the keyboard resumed. "Max. Didn't expect you back this evening."  
  
"Yeah, well, something came up. Or should I say down?"  
  
He sighed and swiveled in his chair, his eyes betraying no emotion as he regarded her. "Yeah?"  
  
"Yeah," she nodded, shifting uncomfortably beneath his scrutiny as he regarded her potentially ruined clothing. "As in Crash."  
  
He lifted an eyebrow. "Crash as in something crashed down, or Crash as in the club?"  
  
"Both. Bomb took out a wall at the club when I stopped in to see the peeps."  
  
"Are they okay?"  
  
"Yeah. No major injuries, 'n all the peeps were in the back room anyway, except for Sketchy. Moron dumped a pitcher of beer on me." Max glanced down at her clothing ruefully. "You mind if I grab a shower?"  
  
He shrugged. "You know your way around. I'll see if my informants have come up with anything while you're occupied."  
  
"Yeah. Great." Max turned on her heel and disappeared into the bathroom, pulling her shirt over her head as she walked.   
  
She purposely took a long time in the shower, allowing the exceedingly hot water to sluice down her body and ease away the tension that was knotting her muscles. When the water began to run cold, Max turned off the taps and stepped into one of Logan's soft towels. She glanced down at her beer soaked clothing with distain before making her way into his bedroom. If she searched long enough, she'd no doubt she'd be able to come up with something of her own to wear, but she found his clothing remarkably more comfortable. So, a quick search of his room turned up an oversized t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants that if she turned down the waistband managed to remain on her tiny hips.   
  
Grabbing his brush off his dresser, Max made her way back into the computer room, perching herself on the top of a desk as she began to brush out her hair. "Any word?"  
  
He glanced up at her and raised an eyebrow; she met his gaze solidly until he shrugged. "Not really. None of my informants are answering the call for information." He grimaced. "I can't put my finger on it, but I can't shake the feeling that this is personal. Someone's coming after you, Max, but I've got no leads on who."  
  
Max sniffed, finally pulling her still damp hair back into a ponytail. "Well, I wish they'd bring it on and get it over with. This playing with bombs shit is gettin' old."  
  
He nodded, pushing away from the desk. "They're not trying very hard are they?"  
  
She laughed slightly. "Pretty pathetic if you ask me. 'Course they may just be trying to get my attention, y'know?"  
  
"Yeah, which means this is going to get worse before it gets better unless we can figure out who's behind it."  
  
Max frowned suddenly. "What if it's not me they're after? I mean you were at the apartment too, and you have started hangin' at Crash with the blonde a lot lately."  
  
"Doesn't make sense, though. Why rattle your apartment and not mine, then? And if they do know who I am, why haven't they said anything?"  
  
She shrugged. "Maybe they're calling me out to get to you, I dunno. Not everything's about Manticore, Logan."  
  
"I didn't say it was." He shifted in his chair and cast her an angry glance. "Why are you on me so hard tonight, anyway?"  
  
"I'm not."  
  
"Bullshit, Max, you've jumped on everything I've said and done all night."  
  
"Oh, please. I'm not the one who sulked for two hours because I was late for dinner." Her jaw set tightly, and she crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
"I wasn't sulking." Logan frowned as he found the tables turned. "I was a little disappointed. It wasn't anything big."  
  
"Great, so for the rest of our lives you're gonna get all pissy whenever you're 'a little disappointed'? How old did you say you were? 5?"  
  
"You want to talk about acting like a child?" Logan got to his feet and walked over to Max, standing so close his breath burned across her skin. "You're afraid of falling in love with me. You had the virus as an excuse to stay away for a few months but now that it's gone you're trying to run again. So, yeah, I was disappointed, and yeah, maybe I didn't do such a good job of covering it, but I'm not going to stand here and let you destroy everything I've wanted since the day I met you."  
  
Max flinched at his words, but narrowed her eyes, glaring at him with seething anger. "Yeah, 'n what're you going to do about it, Logan?"  
  
"Anything I can." His fingers locked into her hair before she had a chance to react and he pulled her to him, his lips meeting hers in a harsh kiss. Her eyes flashed astonishment as Logan's lips moved over hers ruthlessly, pressing her, urging her for a response. Heat flared through her body and she whimpered slightly before relaxing into the kiss. Her hands found his shoulders, holding onto him as he pressed closer, his fingers easing out of her hair as his lips gentled. She felt his touch move down her back, his fingers stroking away the tension that had rebuilt inside her as he pulled back a few inches and met her gaze. He smiled down at her, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes before moving down again. His second touch wasn't a complete nuclear meltdown kiss, not like the ones they'd shared in the past. It was the sweetest, most devastatingly gentle kiss Max's had ever shared with anyone. He brushed his lips across hers tenderly, reveling in the feel of her at last willing touch. His tongue pressed against her, pleading with her, and finally, feeling the last tiny bit of resistance flee from her body, she parted her lips for him.  
  
Logan's tongue swept into Max's mouth and his groan was lost as her taste assaulted his senses. Their few kisses in the past had engrained her scent and flavor into his mind, and as his tongue searched out every hidden recess of her mouth, the familiarity overwhelmed him as even from a mere kiss he was overcome with the feeling of coming home. Her knees parted and Logan stepped in closer, her heat warming his own body even through their layers of clothing. Max whimpered softly, one leg wrapping around his waist as her fingers wound into his short hair and Logan found himself with an abrupt lack of oxygen. Her body arched against him as her tongue waged a sensual battle with his own and his arms slipped down her body to cup her behind.  
  
When air became an issue, Logan pulled away, gasping for one brief moment before returning his mouth to her skin, kissing her jaw, her ear, her neck, loving the way she whimpered and moaned beneath him. Her hands slid down his body, clutching at his sweater and pulling it from his pants. His gasp was audible as her cool fingers slid up the sensitive flesh of his back, tracing his spine as at last Logan allowed his mouth to leave her body.  
  
She shivered slightly when he pulled away, adding only inches between them as he softly stroked her hair. He waited as her eyes began to clear and her body relaxed before he smiled. "Was that so bad?" His voice was teasing and his fingers continued soft caresses over her face and throat.  
  
She drew in a shaky breath, casting her eyes downward as she attempted to avoid his gaze. He chuckled softly, running one finger under her chin to raise her line of sight to his own. Her eyes shone regret, but not for the kisses, rather for her earlier fear, and Max made no motion to move away. She shrugged, finally meeting his gaze with a small smile. "Not bad at all."  
  
Logan released the breath he didn't know he'd been holding and lowered his head until he was resting against her neck, holding her tightly against his chest. "You're infuriating, you know that?"  
  
"You're not a barrel of laughs yourself, Logan." She laughed lightly as she pushed him back, quickly scanning his body for any signs of infection. Her mind was telling her that he was fine, that she'd just spent the last five minutes being thoroughly explored by the man she loved most and nothing had fallen on either of their heads, but her heart still needed to be sure. Her fingers traced his forehead finding no sign of fever before they moved down to his throat to be sure his breathing was normal. She smiled up at him as he stood straight, inviting her exploration to continue, so she moved her hands to his chest, closing her eyes for a brief moment as she felt and listened to his strong heart beat. When she opened her eyes, they had a wicked glint in their dark depths, and Logan shivered as her lips curved into an evil smile.  
  
His teeth closed around his lower lip as her slow exploration of his body continued, her legs keeping him trapped between them as if he'd ever try to escape. Her fingers teased his stomach with light strokes as she lifted his shirt away from his body. It hit the floor in an unceremonious pile and Max flicked her tongue over her lips as she gazed at his naked chest. A low growl built in the back of her throat as her fingers found the soft hair that decorated his body, learning the feel of each muscle that flexed compulsively under her touch. She raised an eyebrow as he shivered when her fingers trailed over one of his sensitive flat nipples. Loving the sounds that slipped out of his throat, Max repeated the action on his other nipple before teasing them both at the same time. She moved slowly, slipping her hands away as her warm lips took over, suckling him lightly. Her teeth and tongue pulled a long groan from between his lips, but it wasn't until his hands found her shoulders for support that she pulled away.  
  
Logan clutched at Max's shoulders when her fingers began moving lower, stopping teasingly at the waistband of his pants as she softly chewed on her lip. Neither of them, however, was surprised when the phone began to ring.  
  
Max looked up at Logan and gave him a small shrug, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Murphy's Law."  
  
"Want to bet it's not good news either?" He shook his head as he drew in a deep breath and reached for the phone.  
  
  
End Part Four: You and What Army? 


	5. Part 5

A/N: **sigh** Home at last. May I suggest never driving to the middle of the country in the pitch black when you've no clue where you're going. I swear my best and I spent more time howling at ourselves getting lost than we did actually driving to where we were supposed to be an hour before. LOL My world is certainly a strange one. :P  
  
As promised, here is part five of fifteen. I can't promise that this part is as thoroughly edited as I generally like, but it's not as bad as it was an hour ago. :P I think what I will do, seeing as how tomorrow is Sunday, is post this part tonight and then probably two more tomorrow night. Then one a night all next week, and finish it off with two posts next Sunday as well. I'm thrilled to hear you're all enjoying the fic... would be no point to writing it if no one liked it, so yay! :) :P  
  
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.  
  
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P  
  
They're not mine, I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P  
  
  
  
Towards the Sunset  
  
  
Part Five: Changes on the Wind  
  
  
By: Danae Bowen  
  
  
Email: logansfox@rogers.com  
  
  
  
"You gotta be jokin', girl." Max's eyes met Logan's interested gaze as she concentrated on making sense of Original Cindy's excited words.  
  
"Ain't no joke, boo. Jam Pony's outta the delivery biz for at least a month. Bomb took out most've the entrance, 'n Normal's desk to boot. Man's trippin' outta his skull."  
  
"On the real! Any clue on the doer, or don't the cops care?"  
  
She heard Cindy pause on the other end of the line and frowned. "Actually, this time the guy left a note."  
  
"Okay, now you're jokin'. Got words on what it says?" Max flipped the phone onto speaker so that Logan could listen and motioned him forward.  
  
"Trust Original Cindy, I got your back, Max." They could hear rustling in the background as Cindy searched through papers to come up with the piece she'd scribbled upon a half hour earlier. "Aiight, got it. Boo, this is some weird shit. Says, "We know this will get to you, Eyes Only. Today was a warning. Unless you broadcast a cable hack stating your identity, we will relieve you of your girlfriend, permanently. Today was no coincidence. We know everything about her and will find her should you not meet our deadline. You have 48 hours from the time the message company is destroyed to make your hack. Otherwise, spend the next two days with her and say goodbye." Damn, girl, that's some serious goings on."  
  
Logan's face had paled considerably since the beginning of Cindy's call, and he leaned back against his computer desk as he attempted to gather his thoughts.  
  
"Girl, can you crash somewhere other than the apartment tonight? I don't wanna worry about ya." Max's voice was low as she matched Logan's pale expression.  
  
"Sure, boo, no problem, but what about you?"  
  
A small smile crept over Max's face. "Logan's got my back."  
  
"Mmhmm." Cindy's voice betrayed her disbelief in the sentence. "You sure he ain't gettin' more than your back?"  
  
Logan chuckled softly but his eyes betrayed the strain of his thoughts. "Cindy, do you have anything planned for the next few weeks?"  
  
Cindy snorted. "You kiddin'? I got a month off work; Original Cindy's gonna be kickin' back 'n forgettin' she'd ever been in that hell hole."  
  
"Are you up for going on a bit of a vacation with Max and I?"  
  
"You footin' the bill?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Then, Sugar, I'm there."  
  
Max had been frowning in Logan's direction through the entire conversation, and finally took a moment to mouth, "What are you doing?" as he paused to scribble something onto a notepad.  
  
"All right, then. Can you be ready to leave by tomorrow morning?"  
  
"No prob."  
  
"Great, we'll see you here around nine." He held up his hand against Max's queries. "And thanks, Cindy. Stay safe."  
  
"I'm all over that, Sugar. You just take care of my boo."  
  
"We'll see you tomorrow." Max said her goodbyes and hung up the phone, finally being able to turn on Logan. "Okay, what was that?"  
  
"I'm getting you out of town for a while."  
  
"Did you consider actually asking me? I can't just leave town, Logan. I have Joshua to worry about, and what happens if another Manticore reject needs my attention?"  
  
"You said it yourself, you can't be responsible for everything. Listen, we'll talk to Alec and get him to look in on Joshua. With Jam Pony shut down, we don't have to worry about Normal. I can't run the risk that whoever's behind this will go through on their threats, Max. They obviously know who I am, since they know who you are, and if they decide to strike at your place again, that puts Original Cindy in danger. I have no intention of making that broadcast unless I have no choice. The easiest thing for us to do is give Matt a call at the station and get him to work the case while we get out of town."  
  
"Where, the cabin?"  
  
"No, too obvious. All they'd have to do is look into the Cale family holdings and they'd be on us before we know it."  
  
"So again the question, where?"  
  
"A friend of my family has a cottage we can use. It's a bit different from my Uncle's, but it'll suit our purposes. There's only one thing."  
  
"Which is?"  
  
"It'll take about two days driving to get there."  
  
Max blinked. "God, Logan, where are you taking us? Canada?" He chuckled softly and lowered his eyes from her gaze. "Canada?! Isn't that a bit drastic?"  
  
He shrugged. "It's one way to ensure we won't be discovered."  
  
She sighed. "Whatever. As long as Alec agrees to take care of Joshua, I'm really in no position to say no."  
  
His grin was self-satisfied as he nodded and picked up the phone. "Just let me call Peter and have him get someone to set up the cottage. He's almost 80 years old but sharp as a tack, and he won't ask questions. He and my father were too close for him to pry."  
  
"Aiight, I'll be back in an hour. Gonna go dig Alec outta whatever hole he's buried himself in and strangle him until he agrees, then I gotta go say goodbye to Joshua."  
  
Logan nodded silently as he turned his attention to the phone in his hand. "Peter! This is Logan Cale, how are you?" Pause. "Good, good. Listen, I was wondering if I could ask you a favor?"  
  
Max chuckled softly as she shook her head and headed out the door. Leave it to Logan to take a life and death situation and make it into a vacation. Ah, well, who was she to complain? She'd get a free trip to Canada out of it, and God knows she could use a vacation.  
  
****  
  
Original Cindy stretched out in the back of the Aztec, resting her feet on the free passenger seat as she leaned up against the door. "So this drive is gonna take how long?"  
  
"About two days." Logan glanced in the rear view mirror, making sure the sector cops were still involved in what they were doing. Three no questions asked passes in and out of the city had taken Max most of the night to obtain, but Max was Max, and now they were on their way.  
  
"We gonna be stoppin' at some posh hotels on the way, ain't we? 'Cause God knows Original Cindy ain't gonna be sleepin' in no car for two days or y'all're gonna hear 'bout it."  
  
Logan chuckled and rolled his eyes in Max's direction. She shrugged as if to say, 'Hey, you invited her', and went back to the magazine she was currently reading. "They won't be "posh", but yeah, we'll stop over night somewhere up by North Dakota. Maybe Miles City."  
  
Cindy made a face as she realized it'd be long into the night before they reached Miles City, but she didn't say anything more.  
  
The hours passed slowly as the broken terrain of the United States passed them by. Around four o'clock, Logan pulled into a truck stop and glanced at the two women traveling with him. Cindy was flipping through the magazine Max had long since discarded, and Max herself was fast asleep. She'd fallen asleep about an hour and a half before and Logan hated to wake her, but he wanted to make sure they were fed before making the last leg of their journey for the day. They'd made good time all day; as it was, they were ahead of schedule, having already passed through most of the Montana part of their journey. If they kept up their current speeds, Logan was hoping to by-pass Miles City and not stop until at least Bismark, maybe even Minnesota if he could help it.  
  
"Cindy, why don't you head in and get us a table. I'll wake up sleeping beauty here."  
  
"Mmhmm. I tell ya, y'all're keepin' up with this just friends bullshit, but Original Cindy knows better. I picked up the pieces when that virus bitch broke her heart, Sugar, don't make me pick up those pieces when you do it."  
  
Logan smiled at Cindy and nodded. "I won't hurt her. I promise."  
  
"Ya'd better promise, or Original Cindy's gonna kick your sorry white ass all the way to Canada. You won't need no road trip schedule that way."  
  
Logan watched Max's friend thoughtfully as Cindy entered the diner and made a beeline to the ladies room. He shook his head in amusement before turning back to the woman who'd slept soundly through their conversation. Having been through so much in the last few months, Logan didn't hesitate in stroking his fingers over Max's soft cheek, brushing her hair away as he waited for her body to register his touch. Her head turned slightly, pressing herself deeper into his caress as he leaned towards her.   
  
"Max." His voice was soft as he took her hand with his free one, his thumb stroking over her palm. "C'mon, beautiful, time to wake up."  
  
Her eyelids fluttered slowly and she groaned, stretching with catlike precision as her mind began to awaken. She frowned at him as his face came into view and suddenly sat up straight. "Logan! What're you… the vi… oh."  
  
He couldn't stop the laughter from spilling past his lips as he watched her mind begin to put the pieces of the previous day together. Max squinted as she looked out the window. "God, where are we?"  
  
He shrugged. "About to leave Montana. Thought we'd stop for some dinner before continuing, though."  
  
"Time's it?"  
  
"Just after four."  
  
"Cindy?"  
  
"Getting our table." He smiled down at her softly and placed a kiss on her forehead. "All caught up now, love?"  
  
"Mmm." She stretched once again before opening the door and climbing to her feet. "Food's good."  
  
He laughed. "Thought you'd say that. C'mon, let's go rescue the waitress I can see Cindy hitting on from here."  
  
Max joined him in laughter, moving to his side and upturning her face for a kiss. "Nah, maybe she'll hit gold. 'Sides, she won't miss us for another minute or so."  
  
Logan lowered his lips to hers, his kiss a bare whisper at first, before pulling Max against him for a deeper touch.  
  
"Y'all gonna stand out there suckin' face, or are ya goin' to come in here 'n eat, 'cause I'm not waiting for you to get yer freaks on, y'know?"  
  
"I think we were missed." Logan smiled down into Max's brown eyes before cocking his head towards the diner's entrance, where Cindy stood waiting for their response. "If we don't go, this is going to get more public that either of us are comfortable with."  
  
Max laughed and looped her arm into Logan's as they joined Cindy in the diner. She sat quietly, watching the banter cross between Logan and Cindy, marveling how the two most important people in her life could be so different and so easy with each other at the same time. When they queried her on the strange smile that pulled at the corners of her mouth, Max shrugged them off, but everyone at the table knew something inside Max was changing. All they had to do was take one look at the subtle soldier, her eyes sparkling, her body more relaxed than they'd seen before, suddenly so at ease with her surroundings, and they knew the change would be for the better.  
  
End Part Five: Changes on the Wind 


	6. Part 6

A/N: Okay, here's part six of fifteen. As promised, part seven will be posted later this evening. The next few chapters are pure shippy stuff mixed in with introspection, so... in other words, classic Dani writing. LOL  
  
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.  
  
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P  
  
They're not mine, I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P  
  
  
  
Towards the Sunset  
  
  
Part Six: Playing Games  
  
  
By: Danae Bowen  
  
  
Email: logansfox@rogers.com  
  
  
  
The hour was late when Logan finally pulled into a motel on the outskirts of Minnesota. Both girls were asleep and Logan's vision was beginning to blur as he parked the car and rubbed his eyes. Excluding the hour they took for dinner in Montana, Logan had been driving for nearly eighteen hours straight, but he was at last satisfied that half of their journey was out of the way.  
  
He pulled himself out of the car, grateful that the exosuit couldn't make him realize how much pain in which his legs would likely be after so long immobilized in the driver's seat. He chuckled to himself, shaking his head as he made his way towards the front desk.  
  
He hadn't realized that Max was awake until he heard footsteps behind him and her small hands circled his waist. She released him a moment later and slipped under his arm as she smothered a yawn.  
  
"Something about cars always knocks me out." She murmured quietly as they entered the silent office.  
  
He shrugged. "It's good for you to sleep, even if you don't think you always need it." He looked down at her and winked. "'Course, you're always going to need it if I have anything to say about it."  
  
Max blushed softly, not missing the innuendo in Logan's statement. It thoroughly amazed her how fast they'd gone from bickering children into comfortably in love, even though they'd never said the words. For a long time Max had wondered if she'd ever overcome the fears she had about Logan. Her fears had stretched into a long list: that he'd turn out like Darren, that when she had to leave she'd not be able to go, that she would get him killed, and most recently that she herself would kill him absently in the wake of her poisonous touch. She'd known the virus wouldn't last forever, Sebastian was nothing if not an astounding genius, but her fears manifested from there. When all was put to rest, would Logan still love her? Want her? Need to be with her as badly as she craved his company? The way they had been acting since their discovery of the virus had wounded Max more than she cared to admit. All she wanted to do was sit in a room with her best friend, lose herself in some gourmet Cale family recipe, and maybe think about a future where she could be loved and feel safe. Instead, Logan put his airtight emotional blocks into place, forcing hers to rise in a defensive reaction, and whatever she and Logan had been began to crumble.  
  
Max sighed, thanking God for creating Sebastian and for sending her Joshua and Original Cindy. As much as Max loved Logan, she was afraid that without their intervention, Max would have lost sight of "the plan" and given up on her future.  
  
She supposed Herbal was right, though, preaching his I and I logic. As much as Max missed her old friend, his words did stay with her. "It's all good, all the time."  
  
Logan handed his credit card to the night clerk and glanced down at Max. "Say something?"  
  
She frowned, not realizing she had spoken aloud. Finally, she shrugged. "Was just thinking about what Herbal used to say, "It's all good, all the time". It just struck me that he was right." She grinned. "I mean here we are on the run from a psycho bomber with my best girl sleeping in the back of the car, we're just recovering from the virus that kept us apart for months, and y'know, it really is all good."  
  
He chuckled softly. "Wonder what Manticore would think of that position on life."   
  
She raised an eyebrow. "Do we really care?"  
  
"Nope. C'mon. Could only get us one double room, but you girls can have the beds and I'll take the sofa."  
  
Max rolled her eyes, but chose to remain silent as they returned to the car to wake Original Cindy and bring in their overnight bags. They watched in amusement as Cindy stumbled into the bathroom to change, popping out only minutes later to fall into bed. Logan and Max were left to wonder if Cindy had ever actually awoke from her nap in the car, but they shrugged it off as unimportant.  
  
Max grabbed her bag and thumped onto the sofa, leaning back as she searched out the book Joshua had insisted she bring. Logan looked on curiously as she began to read and bent down to check out the title.  
  
"When did you start reading Stephen King?"  
  
Max shrugged. "Gave it to Joshua a few months ago. Scared the crap outta him, so he's making me read it now. 'Sides, slept for so long in the car, I'll probably be awake 'till Wednesday."  
  
She watched as Logan set his computer up on a nearby desk and began sifting through emails. "Figures. I leave town and now my informants decided to get talkative."  
  
"Any word from Matt?"  
  
He shrugged. "Just that he's lead in the investigation and will send any information he gets as he gets it. I also have a few people set up on the penthouse as well as your building, just in case. They say it's been totally quiet since the threat was made."  
  
"Let's hope it stays that way." She stretched out and turned the book upside down on her stomach. "So what's this cottage like?"  
  
He grinned. "It's larger than Jonas' and not quite as rustic. It's about twenty minutes north of a small Ontario town called Lakefield."  
  
"Oh, God, not another Cape Haven?"  
  
He chuckled softly and shook his head. "Nah. My dad's friend Peter built the place with his late wife back in the seventies. She grew up on the lake, and he practically raised his daughter up there after his wife passed away. My folks used to take us up every summer to spend a couple of weeks relaxing. Peter's daughter was seven or eight years older than me and somehow saw it as her responsibility to torment me in every way possible."  
  
"Bitch?"  
  
"Nah, she was good about it. She made us part of the family. From what I've heard, they've made some changes over the years. I think the cottage has about fifteen different rooms, a hot tub, a boat on the lake and probably some things I haven't yet heard. There isn't much to do in Lakefield, but Peterborough isn't long off. You and Cindy could probably find a club or something to hang out in."  
  
Max watched Logan as he spoke, laughing at the image of the strong man before her being cowed by a teenager. Her eyes widened at his description of the cottage, wondering exactly how rich one had to be to afford a cottage larger than most people's homes. //Leave it up to a friend of Logan's family.// She moved the book to the floor and curled up on her side as she watched Logan peel his shirt from his body.  
  
He glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow as she stubbornly refused to avert her gaze. Instead he chuckled and shook his head, deciding that if Max wanted something to see, he wasn't going to deny her fun. Still facing her, Logan slowly folded his shirt, allowing the powerful muscles in his arms to flex as he lifted his suitcase to the spare bed. His wheelchair was folded up next to the sofa, so he moved closer to Max, making sure to brush her shoulder as he bent to retrieve the chair. He didn't move away as he unfolded it, setting it up so that when he removed the exoskeleton he'd have full, easy access to make things a bit simpler for later in the night.  
  
Moving away once more, Logan turned his back to her as he slid the loose pants he wore over the exoskeleton to the floor. Max's lips pulled into a half grin as he bent down to retrieve his pants, affording her a view of his rear end, covered only by the under layer of the skeleton. All of the sudden, Max was overcome with the urge to laugh and was unable to choke off giggles and they passed her lips.  
  
Logan glanced at her, lifted an eyebrow then started laughing himself. The whole situation was ridiculous, but they were helpless to fight it. Once they'd calmed their laughter enough, Logan sat on the edge of the bed and watched her in silence for a moment. Finally, he shook his head and grinned. "So, are you gonna sit there and watch, or did you want to help me out of this suit?"  
  
Max's eyes darkened deeply, but instead of moving, she eased herself up against the arm of the sofa, and brought her knees to her chest. "Not a good idea." Her eyes flipped to Cindy, sleeping soundly only a few feet from Logan.  
  
"Afraid you won't be able to resist me, Max?" His eyes sparkled as he teased her.  
  
She gave him an unladylike snort, but didn't move from the sofa. "Original Cindy's already gonna be on my case about kissin' you at the diner today, y'ain't gonna talk me into letting her catch me takin' off your pants next." She picked up the book and pointedly turned her attention away from him. When he didn't move, she glanced up at him one last time. "'Sides, if I get into your pants tonight, what would I have to look forward to at the cottage?"  
  
Logan chuckled. "You are an interesting girl, Max."  
  
"Go to sleep, Logan. I'll wake you around six."  
  
"Get off my bed, then." His eyes flicked to the sofa.  
  
She scoffed. "Yeah, like you're gonna move me now that I'm comfortable. Get yer ass on the bed and go to sleep."  
  
"Max…"  
  
"Oh, just shut up and take the bed."  
  
"Both y'all shut up, or yer gonna know the meanin' of pain. You gettin' Original Cindy's words, or you gonna make me haul my ass outta this warm bed to kick yours?" Neither of them had noticed when Cindy shifted and opened her eyes, and now they both had the good grace to blush slightly as she glared at them. She took in Logan's state of undress with semi-amusement, and turned to give Max a pointed look. "Damn, boo, I ain't kiddin' when I say…"  
  
"Cindy? Sleep. Logan? Bed. Max is reading now."  
  
*****  
  
Max's feet were up on the dashboard as she leaned her head back on the seat. They'd passed into Canada three hours before, she and Logan having switched off driving for the last eighteen hours in an attempt to finish the last half of the journey in one shot. Logan had taken over once again as they approached the border, and Max was feeling the distinct urge to throw herself from the car just to get some exercise.  
  
"I swear to God, the second I get out of this car, I'm gonna run until I drop."  
  
"I can think of better ways to work off all that energy." Logan shifted his gaze to wink at her quickly, before returning his eyes to the road.  
  
"Okay, who are you and where's the Logan that spent a year too chicken shit to kiss me?"  
  
He shrugged quietly. "Why waste another year playing the same old games?"  
  
"So what, you found a new game?"  
  
He nodded. "Yeah, and I'm having a hell of a lot more fun playing this one."  
  
They traveled in silence for a few miles further before Max shifted again, too much energy built up in her body for her to get comfortable.  
  
"How long now?"  
  
"About two hours if we can keep up this pace. We're just about to pass through Toronto."  
  
Max's eyes flickered in interest and she opened the window of the Aztec to peer out. A few minutes passed before she caught sight of the lights of the city, and above them all, the tower stood dark against the night. "CN Tower right?"  
  
"We're not stopping, so you can forget about climbing it." Logan gave Max a lopsided grin as he took the exit to a highway leading around the city.  
  
"Did I say anything?"  
  
"No, but I've known you long enough to know what's on your mind."  
  
Max grinned. "Yeah, you just keep on believing that, Logan."  
  
"Joke all you want, Max, but I bet I know you better than almost anyone. Like right now, I'd bet that you'd like nothing more than for me to…"  
  
"Keep your eyes on the road? Wow, I'm impressed." Her eyes rolled skyward as she turned to peer back out the window, a small smile tugging at her lips.  
  
Her eyes flicked back to meet his as his hand inched over to stroke her leg softly. She met his smile with a small one of her own as she relaxed into the touch and covered his hand with her own. She wasn't about to let Logan know, but she found the gentle pressure of his hand more comforting than anything she'd felt in a long while. So for a few minutes of peace, she allowed her thumb to trace over his strong hand, enjoying his sweet caress.  
  
****  
  
"Damn, boo, that ain't no cottage! That's a goddamn mansion!"  
  
Logan chuckled as he began pulling their suitcases out of the back of the Aztec, watching as the girls took in the oversized cottage in awe.  
  
"Logan, this place puts your cabin to shame." Max climbed the stairs that divided the front lawn and she moved onto the porch, peering into the house through the kitchen window. Logan and Cindy watched from the driveway as Max scouted around.  
  
The cottage loomed before them in the shadows of the night; two-car garage with a games room built on top attached onto the hulking and yet somehow beautiful shape of the main house. From peering through the windows, Max ascertained that the kitchen and downstairs bathroom were in the front just as you walk in. She leaned against the front railing and glanced out at the wooded area across the small gravel road they'd traveled in on. Her eyes were easily able to peer through the darkness, and in the shadows she could see large horses grazing quietly. Just back through the trees she caught the form of two large barns and the main house. Two horse trailers and a large truck decorated the driveway. She shifted her gaze to the left; directly beside them was a small, dark colored house, its long driveway empty of automobiles. Obviously who ever owned the smaller cottage had not arrived and would likely instead be a weekend occupant. Trees shrouded the house to her right, making it nearly impossible for Max to catch a clear view of the building, or figure out whether its owners were as yet in residence. Still, with the near silence of the night filling Max with peace, she was somehow unable to feel threatened from the area. Everything was so calm. She grinned and leaned over the railing, slipping her foot into one of the hand carved rails to boost herself a foot higher.   
  
"Hey, Logan!" Max raised her voice to get his attention in the driveway. "Where're we gettin' the key to this place? Or do I hafta use my hidden talents to get us in?"  
  
Logan rolled his eyes. "Keep your voice down unless you want to wake the entire lake. Sound carries forever up here." He waited until Max lowered her eyes in acknowledgement before grinning. "Peter said his daughter would leave the key under the deck stairs. There should be a nail under the second or third step with the key on it."  
  
Max was down the stairs before Logan had finished speaking, and came up with the key almost immediately. Before Logan even had the chance to pick up their suitcases, the front door was open and Max and Cindy had disappeared inside.  
  
"Don't worry, Max, I've got everything under control here." He called good naturedly, rolling his eyes at the exuberance the girls displayed in their new surroundings.   
  
Cindy's voice carried through the cottage as Logan made his first trip from the car. "Damn, boo, we stay here long enough, we ain't never gonna be happy at our place again."  
  
Logan's body warmed as Max's laughter reached his ears, and he listened quietly to catch her reply. "Nah, this'll be nice for a while, but it ain't home, y'know?"  
  
"Yeah, 'n soon's we hit Seattle, you gonna be bailin' on me anyway. Don't think Original Cindy don't know that look, Max. No more virus means the plan's in action, also means Original Cindy's gonna be lookin' for a new roommate in the near future."  
  
The girls had, by then, begun climbing the stairs to the bedrooms, so Max's reply was lost on Logan. Still, listening to their conversation had brought a few questions into Logan's mind. First of all, he had to find out what "the plan" meant, and then he had to consider the warm shivers coursing through his body at the concept of Max staying with him permanently.   
  
He shook his head, returning to the car for the next load of suitcases. This was definitely going to be an interesting vacation.  
  
End Part Six: Playing Games 


	7. Part 7

A/N: Well, yay me... the second part of the day and it's not even midnight yet. Must mean I care. :P Here's part seven of fifteen. :) Back to our regularly scheduled one part a night now. *G*  
  
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.  
  
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P  
  
They're not mine, I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P  
  
  
  
Towards the Sunset   
  
  
Part Seven: Settling In  
  
  
By: Danae Bowen  
  
  
Email: logansfox@rogers.com  
  
  
  
Logan felt like he'd been hit by a hurricane as Max and Original Cindy swept their suitcases out of his hands and returned to the rooms they'd chosen to be their own. They were too caught up in a flurry of chatter and unpacking to take notice of Logan's actions. It was late and all three were tired, but some things like showers and a change of clothes would not wait.  
  
Logan knew the layout of the cottage from his youth, and knew there was a down stairs bedroom off the formal living room, behind the garage. Peter had added it on for his parents as they grew older and couldn't manage the stairs to the second floor bedrooms; Logan felt it would make the most sense for him to stay in there so he wouldn't always be relying on the exoskeleton to get around.  
  
He slipped into the downstairs bedroom to drop his bags on the bed, grinning at the antique cabinet sewing machine that doubled as a desk in the corner. He immediately set up his laptop and set it to download his newest email as he left to find out what the girls were up to. He began turning on the lights downstairs, lifting an eyebrow at the regal formality of the living room he had to pass through to get back to the main house. The formal room was completely different from the rest of the cottage; the kitchen was done in warm yellows and browns, a design that had obviously been created in the seventies that Peter had decided to keep in honor of his late wife. The informal family room off the other side of the kitchen was done in a contrast of grays and browns. Three large comfortable sofas and a reclining leather chair furnishing the room. The living room also contained an old 62" projection television next to a large fireplace, the wood holder well stocked from the woodpile Logan knew to be in the basement. The living room exited off in two further directions. The first exit was a long sliding door that took Logan out onto the hand built deck, affording him a view of the large back yard, as well as the private beach and waterfront. The second exit led to a large storage closet next to the stairs leading up to the cottage's highest level. He climbed the stairs slowly, wondering which rooms Max and Cindy would have picked. He stopped at the room to his right, closest to the stairs and knocked on the door.   
  
"Yeah?"  
  
He grinned. He'd hoped Max would have picked this room; it was the one always given to him when he stayed over as a child. Peter's daughter stayed in the room directly across the hall, and Peter, himself, stayed in the large master bedroom at the back, while Logan's parents used the downstairs sleeping area. Once, when the Cale's had arrived during a family reunion Peter had been hosting, they discovered that six queen size beds could fit comfortably in the master bedroom, and all the kids spent the weekend bouncing from one bed to another in excitement as they shared a room.  
  
He turned the knob on the door and stepped into the bedroom, leaving the door a few inches open as he met Max's raised eyebrow.  
  
"I come in peace."  
  
She laughed softly, and continued unpacking her clothing as he prowled around the old room. "Lemme guess, yours?"  
  
He nodded, running a hand over the old furniture that was probably now worth a fortune in antique value. He slid open the sliding doors and stepped out onto the small deck that led off the bedroom. He closed his eyes and could vividly remember days of pelting the lake kids with water balloons as they ran and screamed with joy below. Thoughts of his old friends brought question to whether any of them still lived or vacationed in the area, and for the first time in quite a while he considered talking a walk and finding out for sure.  
  
He heard Max approach from behind and felt her cheek against his back as he looked out into the night, enjoying the moonlight view of the beautiful lake that stretched out before them. "This place has a lot of good memories for me." He murmured quietly. "I'm not sure I ever forgave my father the year he decided we'd no longer come up here. He told me that I was a teenager, and pretty soon these trips would become a chore rather than a pleasure to me, and he didn't want to have to go through the fights every summer. He didn't understand that I loved this place and the people here. Everything moves just a bit slower on this lake: time, life, everything. Today, you can almost close your eyes and forget that the pulse ever happened and that just a few hours away cities are in practical ruin. When I was a kid, I used to close my eyes and forget that I was a Cale, and instead of having an overstuffed family, I was just a normal kid living a quiet life." He shrugged dismissively.  
  
"It was a good dream, Logan." Her lips pressed against his shoulder before she shifted, moving so that she was standing in front of him, and pulled his arms around her. "We all need those dreams sometimes."  
  
He kissed the top of her head, holding her close. "Did you ever dream?"  
  
He felt her shrug. "Sometimes, after the escape." She shrugged again. "Didn't get much of a chance to, though. I'm more a reality girl anyway."  
  
"And what a reality it is, Max." His lips found the top of her head once again and with a sigh, Max turned in his arms.   
  
He was mildly surprised when he found himself pulled down into a gentle kiss. Her beautiful, delicate mouth drew a soft whimper from his throat and he pulled her to him, deepening the kiss as he pushed his tongue past her lips, kissing her as hard and as deeply as his dreams of Max demanded. Even with the strength and passion behind the kiss, it wasn't a fast, harsh act; instead Logan felt time grind to a halt while his hands tangled in her hair, their tongues fought a duel war, and heat pounded and pulsed through his entire body.  
  
A soft sound, somewhat resembling a contented purr, escaped from Max chest as he pressed his thigh between her legs, pulling her that much closer in the act. His hands skimmed down her back, tracing the delicate outline of her spine through her shirt as he lost himself in the sweet flavor of her mouth. She tasted of coffee, chocolate, and of the mint gum she'd been chewing most of their long journey. Beneath that was the undeniable taste of Max herself, so sweet he knew he'd crave her flavor for the rest of his life.  
  
"Logan, where's a girl s'posed to get a towel in this joint?"  
  
Cindy's loud voice carried down the corridor, and Max began to giggle against Logan's lips. He joined her in her laughter for a moment before turning his head towards the door.  
  
"Check the walk-in off the master bedroom!"  
  
Cindy stuck her head in the door, caught sight of the two of them on the deck, and leaned against the frame. "You givin' the lake a show, peeps?"  
  
Max buried her face in Logan's chest, trying to stop the laughter that still shook her small frame. Logan's tone of voice didn't help any when he responded, "Not anymore." That set off another round of giggles in Max and in between gasps for air, she was left to wonder why all of the sudden she needed to laugh. For the last two days, the smallest things had been setting her off and Max was unused to the experience.  
  
When Cindy headed back to find the towels, Max turned around and leaned back against Logan for another minute, before she took a deep breath. "I must have too much energy. I'm gettin' giddy."  
  
He smiled down at her, resting his chin on the top of her head. "Maybe you're just happy, Max."  
  
She blinked and paused. "Maybe." She smiled in the darkness and stroked his hand before untangling herself from his embrace. "I'm still going for a run, 'n you should get some sleep."  
  
As if in answer, Logan yawned deeply. He grinned sheepishly and nodded. "Head up to the top of the hill and turn left. It'll take you half way around the lake."  
  
Max smiled and kissed his cheek softly before heading inside to change into a pair of shorts and a tank top. It was coming up on June and the evenings and early mornings were cool, but not chilly enough for Max to wear full sweats. Logan leaned back on the railing and watched Max silently as she peeled herself out of her pants and moved to a drawer where she had put away her shorts. He smiled at the site of her little black panties, and raised an eyebrow when she turned and caught him watching. Repeating her actions of the night previous, he refused to alter his gaze and instead watched her openly, suddenly no longer tired in the least.  
  
Max half blushed under Logan's scrutiny, but she didn't attempt to cover herself, instead drawing out the moment by dropping her gray shorts onto the bed and turning to recover a matching tank top. With a wink at Logan, she slipped out of her shirt and openly modeled the black bra she wore to match her underwear. She watched as the smile slowly slipped away from his features, and his eyes darkened as his jaw tightened.  
  
As inch after inch of Max's golden skin came into view, Logan's pulse increased until the blood rushing through his brain drowned out the sounds of the night around him. He'd gasped and caught his breath when she pulled her shirt over her head and his eyes settled on her perfect breasts, finding that mouth had gone instantly dry. She turned back to the bed, reaching for her top, drawing out every movement as slowly as possible. He couldn't seem to stop himself from walking forward, his mind numb with awe as he drank in her beauty in silence.  
  
Her intake of breath was audible when his cool hands moved over her shoulders and down her arms, her suddenly numb fingers releasing the tank top she was holding. Her teeth closed over her lower lip as his hands advanced from her shoulders, down her arms, his body coming up to press flush against her from behind. She whimpered quietly, leaning back into him as his fingers slid from her arms to her bare stomach, sending shivers of pleasure down her spine. He rolled his hips slightly, letting her feel his arousal against the soft flesh of her buttocks. She arched her back, presenting her breasts to his touch.  
  
His breath was hot against the side of her face as he brought his hands slowly up from her stomach, caressing her ribs, before pausing under her breasts. At first he allowed his thumbs to merely stroke the bottoms of her soft globes, her bra still hiding them from his view. As he teased her with his slight touch, he lowered his lips to her exposed neck and began nibbling tiny biting kisses from her chin to her shoulder and back again. He slid his hands up a bit higher, cupping her fully as they both sighed with the feeling.  
  
Max's body stiffened as his hands closed over her breasts, electric shocks of pleasure jolting through her body and making her groan. She arched herself against him wantonly, pressing her breasts deeper into his hands as she lifted her head and gently kissed his chin, nipping at his flesh, darting her tongue out to ease the sting. In an instant, she'd spun in his arms, latching onto his mouth with her own, thrusting her tongue deep inside him. Logan froze in a moment of surprise, before meeting her tongue with his own, digging his fingers into her hips as he groaned aloud. She pulled him off balance as she braced herself against his shoulders and brought first one long golden leg up to wrap around his waist, closely followed by her second. In moments she found herself falling through the air, only to bounce softly on the queen size bed as Logan followed her down. They paused for a moment to catch their breath, laughing quietly before Logan's fingers once again began their sensual exploration of Max's stomach.  
  
He lowered his lips to her ear, nibbling her lobe softly before finally finding his voice. "So when do you think Original Cindy will burst in?"  
  
She giggled quietly, tracing his spine with a soft finger as she nibbled on his jaw. "Girl knows better. I'll put money on the phone."  
  
He lowered his mouth to her throat, lathering her soft skin in kisses before sliding his lips to her chest, learning every inch of her golden flesh. "Too passé. Knock on the door?"  
  
Her nails dug into his back through his shirt as his lips closed around her breast, his teeth and tongue teasing her nipple through the fabric of her bra. She bit back a groan as she forced her mind to concentrate on their conversation. "We don't know anyone here. Who would knock?"  
  
He switched breasts, one hand coming up to caress the breast his mouth had vacated while he used gently biting teeth to tease her free nipple into a hard peak. His tongue lapped at her quickly before he raised his eyes to meet her gaze. "Neighbor checking us out?"  
  
Her breathing came in heavy gasps as he moved past her breasts and his tongue drew a damp trail over her rib cage to linger at her navel. She whimpered quietly, her hips arching off the bed as his tongue slipped in and out of her navel in a teasing manner, but she managed to keep her voice steady. "Okay, then," she took a deep breath, her fingers stroking through his hair. "Explosion."  
  
Logan growled deep in his chest, and his lips curved into a wicked grin as he raised his eyebrow and winked at her. "Damn straight."  
  
Max shifted on the bed, capturing Logan's chest between her thighs as he began to lower his slow journey of loving kisses. His fingers began to tease the elastic waistband of her little black panties, dipping in just far enough to make Max gasp and quiver beneath him. His hot breath burned over the flesh of her abdomen, making her mind melt with sensation.   
  
She closed her eyes with anticipation, feeling his fingers take a gentle grip on her panties and begin to pull them down. Her eyes flew open a moment later, however, as they both froze at a loud sound. The sound repeated once, twice, and again, making them both leap to their feet in confusion. A loud, sharp bang. Gunshots.   
  
Max looked at Logan in horror, meeting his concerned gaze as she grabbed her shorts out from underneath her, pulling them over her legs. Her tank top was in her hands in an instant and she began pulling it on as she headed out the door.  
  
"Stay here. Probably nothing but hunters or kids or something. I'll be back."  
  
Logan nodded at her, following her down the stairs and glancing out the sliding doors that opened out onto the lake as Max slipped out beside him and down the stairs of the deck. He watched as, even in her gray shirt and shorts, she was able to blend into the shadows and disappeared from his sight only moments later.  
  
He sighed.  
  
"Be careful, Max."  
  
His voice was low, but on the lake sound carried for miles. He knew she would hear him wherever she'd gone.  
  
End Part Seven: Settling In 


	8. Part 8

A/N: Whew.. thought for a few hours there that ff.net didn't want me to post this chapter, since it seemed to be up to its old tricks once again. :P But it's all good... and here we go with the next installment. The following is part eight of fifteen.  
  
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.  
  
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P  
  
They're not mine, I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P  
  
  
  
  
Towards the Sunset  
  
  
Part Eight: Playing with the Boys  
  
  
By: Danae Bowen  
  
  
Email: logansfox@rogers.com  
  
  
  
Max moved quietly through the woods, trying desperately to keep her mind on discovering the source of the shots. Helplessly, however, Max was forced to relive images of her youth; Manticore training at its best as she and her siblings performed like puppets for their commanding officers. Unable to close her eyes against the images, Max relived the entire escape all over again, only tonight beneath her feet there was no snow and no soldiers were approaching from behind with tazers and guns.  
  
She groaned, shaking her head free from her childhood, finally able to concentrate on the night at hand. She picked up her pace, using the trees as cover from the waterfront as she traveled around the lake. At first she'd believed the shots to have come from nearby the cottage, but a quick scan of the area had proven her wrong. It wasn't until after she'd secured their temporary home that she remembered Logan's words of earlier. The way the lake was settled into a valley with only the various scattered cottages and wooded areas for sound barriers, any small sound could be heard far further than in the city, and any loud sound would carry for miles, echoing off the surrounding hills until finally dying away.  
  
When the shots had continued long minutes after Max had left Logan's warm embrace, it took all of her talents and enhanced hearing to track their accurate direction. If her tracking skills were still as honed as she hoped them to be, she should come upon the source of the shots just short of half way around the lake.  
  
Twenty minutes passed and Max's delicate hearing picked up voices not far ahead. She slowed her pace, moving silently through the last bit of forest before coming upon a clearing. Her nose twitched as smoke from a campfire wafted over her, and the now nearly continual popping sound became deafening.  
  
With a groan and a shake of her head, Max stepped into the clearing and leaned against a tree, watching the situation before her unfold in silence for a moment before speaking. "Didn't your mothers ever teach you that in a place like this sound carries for miles?"  
  
The four teenagers leaped in surprise, spinning to face Max as their bodies instinctively dropped into the fight or flight defensive position. They searched the shadows for a minute before they finally caught sight of Max, dimly lit by the outer glow of the fire. The boys took in Max's scantily clad form, a girl barely older than themselves, and let out sharp barks of laughter.  
  
"Didn't yours ever teach you not to go sneaking through the forest in your underwear?" The largest of the boys lifted an eyebrow as he allowed his eyes to openly devour Max.   
  
Max rolled her eyes in the darkness, her best "in your dreams" expression crossing her face, but she carefully blanked out her emotions as she stepped further into the light. "Nah. My mother taught me to be a vapid slut. You boys wanna get it on, or is playing with cherry bombs the biggest your dreams get?"  
  
Her face dropped into a mask of seductive innocence and her tongue flicked out to wet her pouty lips while her eyes traveled from face to face. Something wicked inside of her got a thrill out of the shock, followed by excited desire that filled the teenagers' expressions. She waited until one stepped forward before she couldn't hold back any longer, and erupted into laughter.  
  
"As if, boys." She shook her head in amusement. "Quit with the cherry bombs. I hear them again, I'll personally come back here and kick all your asses."  
  
The largest kid stood straight, trying to appear tougher than he actually was. "Yeah? You and what army?"  
  
Max raised an eyebrow before sighing, deciding a little demonstration was in order, and would double as a decent way to get rid of some excess energy. She dropped into a dead run, passing the boys who barely had time to blink before she vaulted off a tree, back flipped over their heads and landed a foot behind them. When they turned to look at her in awe, Max merely smoothed back her hair, and gave them her stoniest glare.  
  
"No. More. Cherry. Bombs."  
  
"Uh, yeah, sure, lady." The largest boy stuttered. "You got it."  
  
Max shook her head and turned on her heel, deciding to stick to the woods for a mile or so before hitting the road and jogging back to the cottage. As she moved away, her sensitive hearing picked up the boys deep in conversation, and she was forced to giggle as she was compared to a pre-pulse television show warrior princess. She arrived at the gravel road only minutes later, and took a moment to stretch out her muscles before beginning the long jog home.  
  
She chuckled to herself as she thought about the direction the boys' conversation would have turned to by that point. If she knew anything about teenaged hormones, her tight gray tank top and what it was hiding would likely be the main focal point of their newly discovered dreams. Teenagers and cherry bombs. Max giggled and shook her head again; Logan was gonna have a fit when he heard about this.  
  
By the time Max had jogged the long miles around the lake to the cottage, the sun was slowly beginning to rise on the horizon. With her life as complicated as it was, she found little time to admire such constancies as the rising and the setting of the sun, but this morning she slowed her pace to watch in awe.  
  
She took the final few steps to the front deck, and settled herself on the top stair against the railing. She wasn't sure how long she sat watching the sky change from black to gray to a brilliant orangey red, and finally to the light blue of a clear spring morning, but when she finally climbed to her feet, a small yawn escaped her lips.  
  
She paused at the door to the cottage, shrugging before quickly picking the old lock and letting herself inside. Once in the warmth of the building, Max yawned again and realized exactly how tired she really was. Aside from her catnaps in the car, she hadn't actually slept for any length of time since Logan woke her up that evening nearly four days before. She sighed. She'd only managed to catch three hours of sleep then, anyway, having been exhausted after a particularly brutal day of Jam Pony runs.  
  
She stood in the kitchen for a few minutes, trying to decide whether to crash on the sofa in the family room or to drag her body up the long flight of stairs to her warm bed. She shook her head and poured herself a glass of water, kicking off her running shoes, turning to check in on Logan before making any decisions.  
  
As she slipped off into the left wing of the cottage, she noticed the temperature increase substantially, and she suddenly wasn't as chilled from her pre-dawn journey. She slipped down the short hallway to the room Logan had chosen, and made her way inside silently.  
  
A smile crossed her lips as she peered down at him quietly for a moment. In sleep his face was free of the hard lines he'd developed through too many years of fighting a sometimes losing battle. His hair hung down into his eyes, and Max frowned, brushing it away with cool fingers. He muttered something Max couldn't discern, but his lips curved into a slight smile before his breathing returned to its slow steady rhythm.  
  
She walked around the bedroom, stopping here and there to run a light finger over the exoskeleton, gage the black market value of a lamp or painting, before coming to a stop in front of Logan's computer. The deadline for Eyes Only to reveal himself had passed hours before, and a little message indicating that Logan had new mail was blinking insistently for attention. Glancing back at Logan's sleeping form, Max slid into the chair at the desk and clicked into Logan's inbox.  
  
A new message from Logan's men appeared, making Max frown and bite her lip in concern. Two hours after the deadline, the guards Logan had placed on Max's apartment had intercepted what appeared to be an attempted break in. The apparent thieves had been heavily armed and escaped, wounding two men in the process. A new message from Matt made mention of an idle bomb threat that had been called in regarding Logan's building, specifically the penthouse. Matt had handled the situation himself and nothing had come of it, but it was still cause for concern.  
  
The final message made Max's revved up blood run cold. "Eyes Only, we know you're out there. It'll only take us a short time to track you down. You had a chance, now neither you nor your pretty little girlfriend will survive our presence. We know both your names, Logan. Be sure and tell Max that her friends from Jam Pony say, "Hello". I think the cocky young man with all the money will be the first to say goodbye. Be seeing you."  
  
Max shuddered at the callous words, for a brief moment hating the world in which she lived. With a sigh, Max slipped Logan's cell phone out of the pocket of his discarded jacket and punched in the number for Alec's cellular.  
  
"This'd better be good."  
  
"Hey, golden boy." Max's voice was cold as she rolled her eyes skyward.  
  
"Max? Do you have any idea what time it is?" His voice was cloudy from sleep. Obviously, Alec was recovering from his lifetime at Manticore.  
  
"Hey, if you don't want the heads up on a potential killer on your worthless ass, I'll hang up."  
  
She heard him pause then sigh. "Who'd you piss off this time?"  
  
"Dunno. Just know he's coming after you, hot shot, and as much as I hate the sight of you, you got Joshua's back till I get home, so unfortunately I gotta keep you alive at least that long."  
  
"Gee, appreciate your concern."  
  
Max sniffed. "No problem. Catch Sketchy's back while you're on guard, would ya? Wouldn't want him dying instead of you. He's a moron, but at least I like him."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Alec the Great to the rescue."  
  
Max snorted then flipped the cell off, cutting off Alec's obvious response. Dropping the phone onto the desk next to the laptop, she turned and froze. Logan's eyes were half open and looking at her in concern.  
  
"What?" he asked, his voice low from just awakening.   
  
She shrugged. "Usual. Baddies threatening us and my peeps. Alec's on it."  
  
He nodded she could tell he was almost at the point of drifting off again. Max glanced towards the door, and then back to Logan.  
  
//What the hell?// She figured. //When don't we have a killer on our collective ass?//  
  
She shifted her weight onto the bed and slid under the covers. Careful, she slid over until she was curled up against Logan's chest, her fingers splayed over his warm stomach.  
  
"Good thing I can't feel anything from the waist down." Max nearly jumped when he spoke, expecting him to have already fallen back asleep.  
  
She frowned and raised her chin to look up at him, catching the humor in his beautiful blue eyes. "Why's that?"  
  
Logan chuckled and wrapped his arms around her body, holding her close. "Cause if your fingers are any indication, your feet are probably freezing. As much as I love having you close against me, Max, I think feet that cold would definitely keep me awake." He winked at her softly before closing his eyes once more. He allowed gently exploring fingers to travel up and down her spine in a slow rhythm as Max relaxed against him and her breathing evened out. He smiled. "Don't worry, beautiful. I'll always be here to keep you warm."  
  
*****  
  
Max stretched slowly, arching her back, groaning slightly in the bright light of the day. She glanced out the window and raised an eyebrow at the height the sun had attained in the sky. It was at the very least late morning and Max had slept away half of her first day on vacation. Her lips pulled into a slow smile as she turned in the large bed, snuggling down deeper into the warm blankets, not wanting to pull away from the comfort that surrounded her.  
  
She heard a crash and quiet laughter from the kitchen and chuckled to herself, wondering what Original Cindy and Logan were up to. With a sigh, she pulled back the sheets and dragged herself to her feet, taking a moment to stretch out her sleep tightened muscles. She glanced down at her clothing and frowned, wishing she had something to wear aside from the now wrinkled shorts and tank top in which she'd spent the early morning jogging.  
  
//God, I need a shower.//  
  
With a shrug she ran her fingers through her hair and slipped out of the bedroom with as much grace as she could muster. The hall exited into an arch that separated into the kitchen and the family room and Max paused, wondering if she'd be able to slip around her friends without being noticed. Not that she cared really; Original Cindy had seen Max first thing after exhaustion had caught up with the genetically enhanced being, but Logan didn't need to see her at her worst. She was trying to make a good impression on this vacation but morning breath, sleep tangled hair, grungy clothes, and no shower did not bode well in the impression department.  
  
Using all of her well honed cat burglary skills, Max slid silently past her friends and into the large family room. She breathed a sigh of relief as she made her way up the long staircase and into her bedroom. It only took a few minutes for her to retrieve a pair of jeans and one of her token black tank tops before making her way to the bathroom for a long, hot shower.  
  
As she allowed herself to relax under the hot spray of the water, Max relived the events of the past few days, still wondering how she and Logan always managed to get themselves into such remarkable disasters. She knew they couldn't stay hidden out in Canada forever, as appealing as the thought may be, and worries over what would happen should Matt not be able to find the villain of the week before it was time to return home began to creep into her mind.  
  
They had to start figuring out who it could be so hot on their asses, although the why was fairly obvious. In the past two years, she and Logan had managed to put away many people who would have reason to come after them in the event of their release. Short of breaking into Seattle's department of records and finding out who had been released lately with connections to Eyes Only, Max couldn't see them narrowing down the list of suspects in any short amount of time.  
  
Max stepped out of the shower and into a towel, taking her time as she dried off before brushing her teeth and slipping into her fresh clothing. Exiting the bathroom, Max was satisfied that she finally appeared human and decided to join her companions.  
  
She took a deep breath, bringing a sparkle into her eyes as she breezed through the family room and into the kitchen with an air of confidence. Original Cindy and Logan were at the table, indulging themselves in thick sandwiches, salads, and large glasses of iced cola. Max leaned against the doorframe and lifted an eyebrow, watching them in amusement.  
  
When she cleared her throat, they both looked up and greeted her with smiles. Original Cindy winked at Max as she kicked the chair next to Logan away from the table. "Startin' to think ya'd never get yer ass outta that bed, boo. I mean damn, we already been to town 'n got us groceries 'n everything. Your dreams that much better than the real thing?"  
  
Max caught Logan's gaze, and memories of the moments before they'd been interrupted by cherry bombs set her cheeks aflame. His gaze darkened as he watched the flush creep across her face, and he licked his lips slowly, a wicked glint shining in his eyes. Max's eyes matched his sparkle, and she lowered her gaze to the floor, avoiding Cindy's pointed look from Max to Logan and back again.  
  
"Aiight, what'd I miss? You two bang the gong last night?"  
  
Logan blinked, staring at Cindy in surprise. "What kind of question is that?"  
  
Max rolled her eyes and dropped into the free chair, kicking Cindy under the table, making her friend yelp. "The kind she asks whenever you 'n me have dinner. 'Bout time you gotta deal with it."  
  
"Can y'all really blame a girl for getting her boo's back?" Cindy raised her eyebrow and turned her serious gaze on Logan. "Sugar, y'all been dancing around your big ole expensive bed for two years. Original Cindy's just sayin' it's about damn time you two give it up."  
  
Max rolled her eyes, climbing to her feet. "You two can sit here and chat about our sex lives all you want. I'm going to town." She held her hand out in Logan's direction, giving him a pointed look until he handed over the keys to the Aztec.  
  
Cindy glanced at Logan before getting up. "You know what, boo? Original Cindy doesn't have a stitch to wear, 'n if we're goin' dancin' tonight, a girl's gotta be at her best."  
  
Max sighed. "Whatever, but, girl, you got no say in what I buy."  
  
"Fair 'nuff." Cindy's face eased into a grin as she glanced one final time between Max and Logan. "Still, a little something sexy…"  
  
Max shook her head and walked out the door, forcing Cindy to stop talking and follow her if she actually wanted a ride into town.  
  
****  
  
The girls were gone less than four hours, having hit Lakefield instead of Peterborough for their shopping spree. When they pulled into the driveway, Logan was sitting on the front deck, enjoying the sun and working on his laptop. He lifted a hand in greeting as they walked up the path; Cindy was carrying an armload of bags while Max only carried three. He lifted his eyebrows at her, studying the bags curiously, but she laughed him off, telling him he'd see what she'd bought later that night.  
  
The girls took their purchases upstairs, coming down to dig around the kitchen for something to eat. Logan joined them, returning his laptop to the desk in his room before helping them pull out the ingredients for more sandwiches.  
  
Original Cindy gave the sandwiches a cursory glance as she sat down at the table, letting Max and Logan finish together. "Hey, boo, thought you said your boy's a gourmet. All he's done for me is sandwiches. When we gettin' to the good stuff?"  
  
Logan chuckled softly. "When you only give me five minutes, there isn't much I can do aside from sandwiches, but I promise to try something more creative for tomorrow night."  
  
"Mmhmm, Original Cindy'll believe that when she sees it. Think I'll take my fine self for a walk down the beach 'n see if I can't find me a friend or two."  
  
Max and Logan watched Cindy get to her feet and exit the cottage in a flourish as she continued muttering about the lack of choice in the area for a girl who knows what she wants. Logan's hand slipped on the knife he was holding as he tried to cover laughter with a cough and the blade cut into his hand, making him hiss in pain.  
  
Max frowned as he lifted his hand to his mouth, covering the small wound with his lips as he moved to the sink. "Got yourself good?"  
  
He shrugged. "Nothing a little cold water and twenty stitches won't fix."  
  
She laughed. "Baby. Lemme see."  
  
A hot rush flooded Logan's body as Max took his hand in her own, stroking over his soft flesh as she examined the small cut that had almost stopped bleeding. He cleared his throat, willing his heart to continue beating and his lungs to continue drawing breath as he curled his lips into a smile. "Are you going to kiss it better, too?" His words were light, but his darkened eyes begged for an opening into intimacy.  
  
Max gave him a slow smile, lowering her head to his hand, caressing his wounded flesh with her gentle lips. She glanced up, her eyes sparkling brightly. "Better?"  
  
He sighed, swallowing deeply. "Feels nice."  
  
Max glanced at the door to make sure Cindy was truly gone before pushing Logan back towards the kitchen table and into a chair. She moved onto his lap, settling into his arms. "I know something else that feels nice."  
  
The sting of Logan's wound suddenly faded as Max's words whispered over him like a gentle purr, instantly heating his blood further. His arms wrapped around her waist as he lowered his lips to her throat, soaking in the taste and feel of her flesh against him once more.  
  
He trailed soft kisses up over her chin towards her lips, silencing her next words in a warm kiss full of longing and desire. Minutes passed as they lost themselves in sweet kisses, flesh tingling with the feel of gentle caresses, bodies aching as they pushed themselves to the point of overheating. Finally, gasping for air, Logan pulled back. He closed his eyes as he tried to calm his rapid heartbeat, holding Max close to his chest.  
  
He rested his chin on the top of her head, his eyes trailing to where Cindy had disappeared only minutes before. "What do you think our chances are?"  
  
"You mean without phone calls, explosions, gun shots, cherry bombs, unexpected visitors, and Original Cindy?"  
  
"You left out enraged big brothers."  
  
Max bit her lip but recognized the joke for what it was, and let the slight tug at her heart pass by without mention. She smiled softly, "I dunno, but the longer we sit here talkin' about it, the more fate has time to come up with her next intervention."  
  
Logan swallowed hard, and Max felt his arms tighten around her. "Are you sure?"  
  
She rolled her eyes, lifting her head to meet his darkened gaze. "No, Logan, I'm just screwin' with your mind." Her tone was sarcastic but gentle, and she lowered her lips to his for a long, gentle kiss. In moments her brown eyes deepened to an almost black, and she leaned back to meet his smoldering look with a sexy smile. "Bedroom's not gettin' any closer."  
  
In seconds Logan was on his feet, Max laughing in his arms as she was swept into the air. She shivered with pleasure as his voice deepened into a sexy growl, and his hot words burned over her flesh. "The hell it's not."  
  
Neither of them noticed the chair Logan vacated as it tipped over and crashed to the floor. The only thing on their minds was the bedroom a mere hallway away, and the pleasure to come. Max crushed her lips to Logan's, breaking the kiss only long enough to giggle as he stumbled them into a wall. He corrected their direction and reclaimed her mouth, sweeping his tongue past her lips to indulge himself on her unique taste.  
  
He paused as he reached the doorway to the bedroom, peering into Max's eyes one final time. His own pleasure and desire were mirrored in her dark depths, but his heart skipped a beat as he finally understood the emotion that burned even deeper within her. Beyond the smoky, sexy gaze that Max turned upon him, Logan caught sight of the timid love growing in her soul. He sighed, holding her that much closer as he took the final step over the threshold and into his room, carrying her to the bed before setting her down gently.  
  
He wanted her more than words were able to express, every nerve in his body burned at the thought of making love with Max for long hours to come, but it all became moot in that one moment when he realized that Max did truly love him. For all her fears and all her pain, she'd come so far with him that she was no longer afraid to let him see what was in her heart.   
  
His eyes grazed over her body, and he realized, not for the first time, the true beauty that this woman held. Of course, as he lowered his lips to that sweet little hollow in her throat, losing himself in the touch he'd been too long denied, he realized that his love for her was just as great. Perhaps she wasn't ready to hear or say the words themselves, and perhaps neither was he, but Logan wasn't about to let one minute more pass them by without letting Max know, with his every action, that she was loved as much and more than any other woman.  
  
His thoughts began to blur as the focus of his world became the desperate whimpers and cries that escaped Max's lips, and Logan gave up trying to make sense of anything but the feel of the woman beneath his hands. He didn't mind, however; he'd spent too much of his life thinking and analyzing. That afternoon, Logan was going to learn what it meant to truly feel.  
  
End Part Eight: Playing with the Boys 


	9. Part 9

A/N: Well, this chapter is your own choice as to whether or not you'd like to read. It really bares no meaning on the fic since I'm sure you've all figured out what Logan and Max retired to the bedroom to do, but, hey, what can I say? I like to write a bit of smut here and there. :P You can skip this part if you'd like and wait till tomorrow night's part, or read it.. just please be sure you're old enough if you do read it, cause I don't want any parental units bitching at me for writing what I write. :P It's part nine of fifteen, and definitely a major strong R rating.. apparently it's a little heavier than the smut I usually write, but I figure since you're all supposed to be of age, you can handle it. :P  
  
And again, thank you all for your wonderful reviews. I look forward every night to seeing what you've all had to say, and you've all been so kind. :) So, thank you. :)  
  
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.  
  
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P  
  
They're not mine, I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P  
  
  
  
Towards the Sunset  
  
  
Part Nine: Looking Back, Moving Forward  
  
  
By: Danae Bowen  
  
  
Email: logansfox@rogers.com  
  
  
  
Max stretched slowly. She was suddenly aware of muscles that had been long underused as they began screaming for attention. Her face was buried against Logan's shoulder, her knee nestled between his thighs, and her fingers were casually stroking the soft hair on his chest. She sighed contentedly, allowing the low flame still pulsing through her body to heat her blood, and only minutes passed before her lips began a slow journey down Logan's still sleeping form.  
  
Her hands traced his body with a loving caress, taking in the feel of his hard muscles built from two years of relying on his upper body for movement. She found the scars of their past, well healed now; a long dark mark across his shoulder from where a bullet had grazed him months earlier, a small white line across his chest from a day he'd been taken hostage, a mark on his stomach from something she could barely recall. Each little line pained her, knowing that many were likely caused by his involvement with her, but each mark also served as a reminder that their life did exist. Beyond this bedroom they had a life that they'd shared for two years; yes, many things had changed in the last few days, laying naked in a bed with him being only one, but it comforted Max to know that they'd built whatever they had on something more than pure lust. They had friendship along with passion, respect along with desire, love along with lust. Each mark on his body proved that before there had been sex, Max and Logan existed together as something much more.  
  
She lowered her lips to his chest, her tongue flicking out, drinking in the scent and flavor that was Logan's alone. He muttered in his sleep, his arms shifting, unconsciously opening himself to her touch. Her eyes sparkled as she used her knee to nudge his legs into a more comfortable position, and her gaze flicked to the exoskeleton lying in a heap on the floor. Max had to giggle quietly, remembering exactly how the usually impeccably cared for department of defense experimental unit had come to be just another piece of clothing. She supposed it really was mostly her fault. Logan had tried to be a gentleman, tried to take her slowly to her completion, caressing her willing body with soft kisses and gentle touches, heating her blood to a near boil before Max knew she had to take over.  
  
Max knew that if she lived three lifetimes, she'd never forget the awed expression that burned in Logan's eyes as she'd sat astride his hips, finally pulling her long fingers away from his bare chest to lift her tank top over her head. She had released her bra with barely a movement, the under garment joining her shirt on the floor as her breasts spilled free for his view. When his hands slowly traveled over her thighs, across her warm, flat stomach, and finally came to rest against her breasts, Max hadn't been able to smother the soft groan that pressed past her lips, and Logan's eyes had darkened to such a deep sapphire, Max thought she just may drown.   
  
Sex to Max had always been a game or a pain, something that was either a fun way to pass the time, or something forced upon her by her nature. She'd never had the opportunity to lean back and just feel the sensations as they flowed through her body, enjoying the touch of her lover for more than just her completion. Logan had set her body on fire, and he'd only just begun.  
  
When his thumbs had found her nipples, stiff and puckered from his touch, Max had rolled her hips softly against him, whimpering Logan's name quietly. He'd groaned and closed his eyes, reveling in the feel of her body pressing against his painful erection, driving him beyond any limits he'd ever seen. His heart stalled for long moments as he experienced her hips circling upon him, his lower body thrusting up to meet her attention, his fingers closing harder over her soft, golden breasts.  
  
She'd leaned down then, her hair falling to the sides of her face, the ends tickling him and forcing him to open his eyes. There had been such a wicked, wanton glint in her eyes that his breathing hitched in his chest and he raised his hands to cup her face, bringing her closer for a full, lingering kiss. His lips felt abandoned when she'd slipped away, but the sensations traveling through the rest of his body had more than made up for the loss. She had started to inch her way down his body, her lips and tongue trailing a damp trail from his throat to his chest, and lower still. She'd licked her soft lips before lowering them to his flat, dark nipple, swirling her tongue around his sensitive flesh until he bucked beneath her. He'd felt her lips curve into a smile against his tortured skin and she'd moved lower still. Her tongue had traced down past his ribs and her teeth had nipped at the flesh of his stomach before she'd paused at his waistband and smiled up at him, her eyes betraying her evil intent.  
  
He'd watched her in amazement as she'd slipped his loose pants from his body and returned in moments to begin undoing his exosuit. At first he'd protested, wanting the full range of motion the exoskeleton could provide, but she'd quieted him with a single finger pressed against his lips and her whisper of breath over his ear.  
  
"Trust me."  
  
He'd been unable to deny her, her smile bringing nerves to life he'd thought long dead as he lay back, willing his body to relax long enough to allow Max her games. With her eyes flashing with such life and love, Logan had turned himself over into her capable hands, knowing wherever Max was going to take them would be exactly where he wanted to be.  
  
Her eyebrow had risen in humor as she peeled the exoskeleton from his body, amusing herself with the sight of his midnight blue boxers. Her grin had spread to her eyes making Logan's breath catch as he drank in her beauty, but she hadn't been about to give him the time to relax. In an instant the exoskeleton had been tossed to the ground and her fingers had found the band to his shorts, yanking them off his now still legs with an ungentle force. The amusement had quickly faded from her gaze, however, as she leaned back to take in the full naked length of Logan's body; the humor in her eyes had dissolved into dark passion, and Logan suddenly felt as if he were being stalked. She'd lifted a single eyebrow as she met his gaze and crawled slowly up the length of his legs, her tongue darting out over her lips as she hovered over his pulsing erection. She'd remained still for a moment, watching as his eyes grew wide when her hot breath breezed over his aching organ and a hungry desperation had filled his gaze. A small smile had tugged at her lips before her tongue darted out and Logan was rewarded with a feather light touch that would have made his entire body leap with pleasure had he been able. Instead, he'd whimpered softly, his fingers curling into fists at his side, until her warm lips closed over him, taking him deep inside her warm, wet mouth and making him groan.   
  
Her gaze had met his with wicked abandon as her head moved upon him, first in short little strokes before her fingers had closed around the base of his penis and she lengthened her rhythm. His eyes had closed tightly then, as he struggled to keep from drowning in the sweet sensations with which Max gleefully tortured his body. When she'd finally sat back, her tongue easing out to bestow one last torture upon him, stroking his now painful erection from base to tip, her expression was one of wanton lust.  
  
Max shook herself from her reverie, bringing herself back from the memories of the hours before, shifting her concentration onto Logan's hard body before her now. Her fingers trailed over sensitive spots on his chest she'd found hours earlier, dragging one nail slowly across his nipple, watching with pleasure as it hardened under her ministrations. When she finally glanced up at his face once more, she again was startled to find him watching her with bemusement. His blue eyes shone in the pale light filtering into the room, and he smiled down at her.  
  
"Looking for a repeat performance, Max?"  
  
She grinned back, shifting her body to straddle his thighs as she lowered her lips to his for a long, slow kiss. His tongue pressed against her, seeking entry into her warm mouth, filling himself with her sweet and ever so unique taste. His hands stole over the soft skin of her back, sliding over her sides to cup her golden breasts. Her head fell back as she arched herself into his touch, his fingers kneading her flesh into a blatant state of pure arousal, his thumbs crossing her nipples, caressing her with firm strokes until a moan of pleasure broke over her lips in a wave of ecstasy.  
  
She gasped as Logan's mouth rose to replace his fingers, sucking her nipple between his teeth as his tongue flicked at it. Her hips circled upon him with an uninhibited manner she'd learned to expose only with Logan; she could barely contain a scream of passion as his teeth worked against her nipple harder before sucking her deep into his eager mouth. He pulled back a moment later, his tongue flicking out to lap at her nipple one final time before easing back to the bed, grinning from ear to ear.   
  
His fingers trailed down her body, resting on her thighs only for brief seconds before slipping between them and deep inside her hot core. She was more than ready for him but he prolonged the moment, bringing her into a gasping, quivering state as his thumb found her sensitive clitoris and stroked it with delicate force. When her lips began to issue only moans and pleas, her body thrusting against his with shameless desire, he pulled away from her body and returned his hands to her hips. It took her only seconds to catch on, and together they lowered her body onto his waiting erection, pausing in mutual agreement as they allowed themselves a single moment of furthered anticipation. She felt every pulsing plane of him as he millimeter by millimeter and then inch by inch slid into her warm wet center, making them both growl softly with pleasure. Finally, Logan was sheathed entirely within Max's body, and he gazed up at her in worship.   
  
//What did I do to deserve you, Max?//  
  
His body quivered as his hands tightened on her hips, holding her in place, before finally allowing her to move upon him in first slow, then rapidly increasing strokes. Max leaned forward, her hands on Logan's  
chest as she raised her hips, driving herself down on his hard body. One of Logan's hands reached up and caressed her breast, pulling her nipple stiff and erect as his other hand aided in pulling her down harder and deeper onto him. Max leaned in closer, capturing his lips as they moved together, their soft cries caught within the caverns of the others' mouth. Their speed increased; Max drove herself down on Logan as his hand traveled from her breast down to where they were joined, finding her swollen clitoris easily. She groaned loudly into his mouth, biting down upon his lip as his fingers increased pressure on her already overly sensitized body.  
  
Faster and faster they came together, her breathing hitching then stopping all together as she shut her eyes tightly, crying out, tumbling into a fog of passion and burning sensation. It was only a moment later that she felt Logan tighten and explode inside her, his cry following her own as he tore away from her mouth, his body tense with release.  
  
When she finally pulled away, her breasts rose and fell with the force of her labored breathing; her golden skin was covered by a thin sheen of sweat as she gazed down at him. His own breathing came in deep gasps, his heart pounding painfully against his chest, but the smile that graced his features matched Max's for brilliance. Logan pulled her down to his side, forcing her to separate their bodies as he wrapped her in a warm, loving embrace.  
  
Max sighed softly against his flesh, her head resting comfortably once again against the hollow between his neck and his shoulder. Her fingers tangled with his as they slowly allowed themselves to come down together, and for the second time in as many hours, their eyes drifted closed.  
  
When Original Cindy strolled through the door hours later, she didn't have to wonder where Logan and Max had disappeared to through out the day. Their half created sandwiches still rested upon the counter, Logan's chair was still over turned on the kitchen floor, and if Cindy were to have looked close enough down the hall, she'd have noticed clothing that had been flung far out of the bedroom during one of Max's less cohesive moments hours before.  
  
Original Cindy shook her head in amusement, setting the kitchen straight before moving through the family room and up to her own room. She had a few magazines she could look through, and God knew she needed a manicure in the worst way after a day on the beach. A girl could always find something to keep herself occupied when her best boo was momentarily indisposed.   
  
Cindy giggled and then laughed, collapsing back on her bed as she shook her head in amusement. She'd wait until dark before risking an interruption; Max and Logan had been playing games too long for Cindy to cut their first time short just to get ready to go clubbing. Nope. She could definitely wait until dark.   
  
*****  
  
End Part Nine: Looking Back, Moving Forward 


	10. Part 10

A/N: Okay, it's safe to read again. :P Two more shippy chapters, including this one, then back to the actual plot line. Yessssss... there was a plot to this other than getting Logan and Max into a gong banging situation. :P  
  
You all can thank my sister for Max's clothing in this. We spent hours going through outfit after outfit trying to find something killer for Max to wear. I'm not sure I did the outfit justice describing it... but it was a hard thing to get through in words. Trust me though... her shirt is killer... my sister has amazing taste. ;P  
  
If this isn't as thoroughly edited as I would like, please blame the fact that I just got off a 13 hour shift at my job and am exhausted... but I didn't want to leave you all chapterless tonight, especially considering we're coming up to the end. Five chapters to go... whew... hard to believe from my end. This story seemed like the endless adventure while I was writing it... and now it's two thirds posted. I'm almost sad. Well, not really, especially if you're all enjoying it. :P  
  
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.  
  
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P  
  
They're not mine, I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P  
  
  
  
  
Towards the Sunset  
  
  
Part Ten: Dressed to Kill  
  
  
By: Danae Bowen  
  
  
Email: logansfox@rogers.com  
  
  
  
The sun was dipping low into the sky as Max settled back onto the bed, Logan's laptop in her hands. He'd gotten up to check on the exoskeleton, slipping it over his newly acquired boxers and returning to lean up against the headboard of the bed. She had slipped into one of his dress shirts and a pair of cut offs before slipping her body between his legs, leaning against his chest, resting the computer on her knees. Together they checked Logan's emails, discovering that no further headway had been made into their case. Max sighed deeply as she leaned back into Logan's arms, fingering the cell phone she'd also brought over from the desk.  
  
"You call him. Think he likes you better than me anyway." Max chewed her lower lip, not particularly feeling up to talking to Alec after such an amazing afternoon with Logan.  
  
"Hey, he's your sibling, in a once removed sort of way." Logan was glad that Max was unable to see the small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. The animosity between Max and Alec never ceased to amuse him.  
  
"Don't remind me." She bit back a groan, but quickly dialed Alec's number, rolling her eyes skyward as she waited for him to pick up.  
  
"What?" His voice was low, his greeting curt as he waited impatiently for a response on the other end.  
  
"Manticore mustn't have bothered teaching you pleasantries." Max's voice dripped antagonism, her cold tone enough to make even Logan feel a chill.  
  
"Sic a hit man on my ass and you want me to be polite about it? What do you want, Max?"   
  
Max paused, sensing something tense in his voice. "You okay?"  
  
"No, I'm not okay. Two minutes before you called and let everyone within a half mile know my position, I had a sharp shooter trying to separate my head from my neck. So unless you're calling to tell me you're on your way to save my ass, I'm hanging up now." She heard his breathing deepen and a sharp crack caused her to pull the phone from her sensitive ears.  
  
"Alec?" When there was no response, Max's body stiffened visibly. "Alec, damnit, answer me!"  
  
"Jesus, woman, would you leave me alone?" A sharp exhale of air was clearly heard through their connection, followed by a series of grunts almost drowned out by the sound of flesh hitting bone. "Son of a bitch!"  
  
Max kept her mouth shut, listening intently to the sounds of battle that rang over the line. When Alec didn't take the time to insult her further, Max knew the battle had to be intense. Her toes curled against Logan's legs as she frowned deeply, worrying her lower lip with her teeth, waiting for Alec to untangle himself from the battle. Long minutes passed before finally his breathless voice reached her ears.  
  
"You still there?"  
  
"Yeah. What was that?"  
  
"Your bad guys making yet another move. Have a feeling they'll be backing off me for a while now though."  
  
Max grinned. "Yeah, why's that?"  
  
She heard Alec chuckle before he replied. "Don't think after dusting like ten of their henchmen they'll be so eager to try me again."  
  
"That doesn't mean the peeps are safe."  
  
"I got my eye on Sketchy. He's not going to get far without me."  
  
Max swallowed her pride, closing her eyes as she nodded. "Thanks, Alec."  
  
"Hey, don't thank me for the Sketch-man. Gotta protect my own interests, and he's a relatively secure investment."  
  
"Right. And Joshua?"  
  
"Snug as a bug. Well, not a bug, but maybe a small grizzly or something. He's got severe attitude problems."  
  
"Only with you, and boy, that's a surprise." Max rolled her eyes, finally allowing her body to relax once again. "Listen, lay low but keep your eyes open, would ya?"  
  
"Right, now I'm a dog sitter, body guard, and cop?" Alec sighed dramatically, but chuckled. "If I hear anything you'll know about it."  
  
"Kay. Gotta blaze. Late." Max quickly hung up the phone, shaking her head as Logan's arms moved around her to switch screens on his computer to accommodate the blinking icon stating that he had new mail.  
  
"Hmm."   
  
"What?" Max's dragged her gaze back from the nowhere into which she'd been staring to look down at the screen before her.  
  
"The guys I have on the penthouse say there's been no activity since the bomb threat yesterday. Only person who's been in and out is Asha." Logan struggled to suppress the chuckle that threatened to erupt as a shiver ran through Max's body when he mentioned his blonde acquaintance.  
  
"Wonder what she was up to." Max tried to keep her voice neutral, but Logan was unable to miss the possessiveness of her tone.  
  
"Probably looking for me. I guess we left so fast, I forgot to tell her." His eyes sparkled brilliantly as Max giggled quietly.  
  
They both jumped as a sharp knock sounded on their door. "Y'all decent? Or is Original Cindy goin' dancing solo?"  
  
Max grinned and shook her head. "We're good, girl. Get your ass in here."  
  
Original Cindy walked into the room, raised an eyebrow at the two cuddled together and collapsed across the foot of the bed on her back. "Almost dark, peeps. You wanna be hittin' the clubs, we gotta be goin'."  
  
Max sighed and shifted, sliding her body away from the warmth of Logan's, climbing to her feet. "Gonna grab a shower and change."  
  
Logan nodded. "Same here."  
  
Cindy smiled at them both and followed Max out of the room, closing Logan's door behind them. Max made it half way up the stairs to the second level before Cindy's hand closed around the back of her shirt, holding her still.  
  
"Hold up, boo. You got some details to give 'fore you go anywhere." Cindy's eyes sparkled teasingly as she followed Max into the first bedroom and watched her young friend begin slipping her secret purchases from their boxes, rolling them in her arms as she turned back to face Original Cindy.  
  
"Can it wait? It's over forty minutes into Peterborough and it's already past eight. We gotta bounce to get there with time to dance, y'know?"  
  
Cindy's expression darkened and she frowned, but finally she lifted an eyebrow and shrugged. "Whatever, Max, but you know we gonna be talkin' sooner or later."  
  
Max rolled her eyes and disappeared down the hall into the bathroom. She was in and out of the shower in less than ten minutes, drying her body carefully, knowing how difficult it would be to ease into her chosen outfit if her skin was still damp. She blow-dried her hair straight and carefully applied a small amount of makeup to her face and eyes. When she was finished, she'd darkened her eyes until her gaze appeared shadowed in mystery.  
  
The first step in getting dressed was to ease into the short sheer nylons she'd bought on a whim. The second step was a bit harder. The pants she'd chosen were a deep blood red color and as she stepped into them, the leather clung to her flesh as a second skin. Moments passed as she tightened the four inches of lace that crisscrossed at each side, nodding in satisfaction when she peeked into the mirror and noticed the pants resting very low on her hips. She picked up her final piece of clothing, a black vinyl corset type top, and slipped her arms through the thin straps. Her fingers nimbly hooked each tiny, near invisible clasp that ran over her stomach and breasts, before she stuck her head through the bathroom door.  
  
"Cindy? Give a girl a hand?"  
  
Original Cindy was through the door in a minute, affording Max a low whistle as she caught sight of the girl in her nearly finished outfit. "What'd ya need, boo?"  
  
Max turned so that Cindy could see the untied laces at her back. "How tight you want it?" Cindy's eyebrows lifted as she glanced at the ten little eyes that would be holding the shiny shirt to Max's slight body.  
  
"What would you wanna see on a girl?"  
  
Cindy grinned. "Boo, you just made my night."  
  
Max inhaled deeply, knowing Original Cindy better than anyone, and she straightened her back to make the tie easier. Cindy crisscrossed the ties as tightly as she could without the laces cutting into Max's flesh, before finally tying off the excess lace at the bottom of the corset.  
  
Cindy stepped back, running her eyes over Max appraisingly and met her friend's gaze with a slow smile. "Damn, girl, you playin' for the wrong team."  
  
Max grinned good-naturedly, meeting her reflection in the mirror beyond Cindy. Her eyes opened widely at the amount of cleavage she was displaying but took satisfaction in the inches of flesh between her pants and top, as well as the golden skin that peeked through the laces on her hips.  
  
Her final additions were the large black boots that laced up to the middle of her calves. Max laced her boots tightly, slipping them under the slight flare of her lower pant legs, and finally Max was almost ready to go.  
  
One last stop in front of the mirror saw Max adding on a slight layer of lipstick. She'd picked it out especially for this particular outfit; the color was a deep red, near brown shade, adding the last deepening touch to her pouty lips. Cindy raised a single eyebrow, leaning back against the doorframe.   
  
"Lipstick, boo? You really did go all out!"  
  
Max grinned into the mirror, and turned away, flashing Cindy a quick wink. "Sometimes gloss just ain't gonna cut it."  
  
Original Cindy shook her head, but her lips were curved into a warm smile. "Boy's gonna die on sight, boo, but keep it real. Original Cindy's actually lookin' forward to a night out, 'n I ain't including time outs to watch y'all gettin' it on."  
  
A slightly red stain flushed over Max's cheeks, but she grinned at Original Cindy and easily brushed by her into the hallway. "Let's get Logan 'n blow this joint. I wanna dance."  
  
"Hear that, my sista."  
  
Together they made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen, taking notice of the open door to the downstairs bathroom. Max turned to Original Cindy and shrugged, turning back to head for Logan's room. She hadn't taken two steps before he appeared in the doorway.   
  
Cindy had to smother a giggle as Logan's face turned pale white, his eyes widening and brilliant sapphire glints of desire burned in his gaze. His lungs stopped being able to process oxygen, his heart stopped beating, and for a moment Original Cindy was actually convinced Logan would need the wall to keep himself upright.   
  
Max found herself blushing deeply as Logan's eyes devoured her body, tingles of pleasure racing through her as she fully realized the power she held over him. Her own eyes betrayed her heart, however, as she took in the sight of her lover with open appreciation. His clothing was simple, light blue jeans and a black, form fitting turtleneck sweater, but damn those colors did something for him. The contrast of black and blue enhanced the color of his eyes and darkened his complexion, somehow augmenting his natural sexiness. Max could feel the burn of desire she'd thought extinguished earlier begin smoldering once more, and her tongue darted out to wet her suddenly too dry lips as she found herself unable to drag her gaze away from Logan's equally intense stare.  
  
Neither of them realized the length of time they stood there until Original Cindy cleared her throat from behind them. "Listen, peeps, if y'all gonna stand here all night makin' eyes at each other, least have the decency to give Original Cindy the keys to the car so I can go 'n get my groove on."  
  
Max dragged her eyes away from Logan, a soft smile curving her lips as she glanced over to her waiting friend. "We're coming." Her voice shook slightly as she turned away, relaxing into Logan's embrace as he approached her from behind, slipping an arm around her waist.  
  
"You look incredible," His words were soft a soft whisper, his breath a hot tickle at her ear.  
  
She grinned, brushing her hair back as she looked up at him for one last brief moment. "You look pretty hot yourself."  
  
They fell silent then and, much to Original Cindy's relief, exited the cottage, locking it securely behind them. Ever the gentleman, Logan opened the Aztec's doors for each of the women before making his way around to the driver's side. The trip into town was lengthy, but one look at Max made Logan forget the slight inconvenience of driving so far just to get to a bar.  
  
Not for the first time, Logan thanked God and every person involved in the creation of the exoskeleton. Logan often relied heavily on the stolen piece of machinery, but he had never appreciated it as much as he did that very moment. Without it there would be no sense in him going to town with the girls; with it, he'd be able to hold Max in his arms for the rest of the night, pretending he could dance to whatever music was playing in whatever bar they would attend.  
  
Truth was, he didn't care what he would look like out on that dance floor tonight, the only thing that mattered was that he'd be there. Logan Cale was no longer a man on the sidelines; the stunning beauty in the seat next to him was his and his alone now. Even if it killed him, Logan would dance with her until she decided it was time to stop; no other man would touch her again.  
  
End Part Ten: Dressed to Kill 


	11. Part 11

A/N: Well, here we go with part eleven of fifteen. I promise that after this chapter is over with, we're back to the action. :) As for this chapter, it's just pure fun. :P  
  
So, again I pause to thank you for all your kind reviews. You people never cease to amaze me with how willingly you give such wonderful praise. The writer in me thanks you, and although my muse is a bitch right now, I'm sure if she had a heart, she'd take a moment and thank you herself. 'Course, she's probably a little ticked, 'cause the more you guys review, the more I want to write, and the harder she's worked. LOL Kind of a double-edged blade. :P  
  
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.  
  
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P  
  
They're not mine, I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P   
  
  
Towards the Sunset  
  
  
Part Eleven: Night Out, Max and Logan Style  
  
  
By: Danae Bowen  
  
  
Email: logansfox@rogers.com  
  
  
Max couldn't help the laughter that bubbled over her lips as Logan danced with her around the crowded floor, the strobing lights bringing out every color Logan's eyes had the ability to shine. Logan laughed with her, keeping true to his promise to himself of not caring what other people thought. He had the most beautiful woman on the dance floor in his arms, and, even through the most ridiculously throbbing beat, he danced.  
  
After two hours, when Logan's face was flushed and his breathing heavy, Max took pity on him and directed him back to their table.  
  
"Relax, Logan, you don't need to be with me every second." She rested a moment against the back of his chair, her fingers stroking his arm softly.  
  
"What if I want to?" He smiled up at her, but was immediately grateful to lower his body into the chair, taking a long swallow of the cold beer that rested on their table.  
  
"Then you're insane." She laughed quietly, bending to press her lips softly to his temple. "Drink your beer, me 'n Original Cindy'll be in your sight the whole time. Promise."  
  
He watched as she eased back out onto the dance floor, her small frame slipping around people with a grace Logan wondered if any other woman possessed. Logan's mind wandered over their life together, starting with the first day he'd set eyes on Max. He'd known there was something different about her in those very first few moments and dedicated hours to tracking her down, convincing her to remain a solid part of his life. They'd had their ups and downs over the two years since then what with Manticore always being around the next corner and his Eyes Only jobs shoving danger under foot, but they'd managed to come through it mostly unscathed. Of everything they'd been through, the virus had been their greatest force to overcome; Logan knew that for a long while he'd been less than pleasant to Max, jumping to the wrong conclusions, hostility brimming in his every word, but he'd been hurting. It took many months before he'd learned that having Max in his life in even the smallest ways was a lot better than having her gone completely. He should have known that immediately, having spent three months believing her dead, but it took until she'd disappeared one night, spending weeks away from Seattle, leaving Original Cindy with instructions to keep Max's location from him. She'd needed to think, she'd told him on her return; she'd needed to find out if living the way they had been was worth the pain.   
  
Logan had changed his outlook on their relationship in that instant. As long as they still had whatever was holding them together, the physical didn't mean as much as it once seemed. He'd finally convinced himself that the virus was just a bug, and one day they'd be able to find a way to squash it; remembering the day just passed and the stolen moments before that, Logan knew he'd been right. All it took was a little time, a little patience, and now he had everything that mattered in his life.  
  
He watched Max in amusement as the music faded away and a new song began. The song was at least thirty-five years old, popular in the 1980's from exposure in an old dance movie Logan had once seen late at night. They'd extended the song, adding in a longer dance opening, the beat driving Max to greater heights as she and Original Cindy danced energetically, though Cindy rolled her eyes at the lyrics. Max laughed and whispered something to her friend, and Original Cindy joined in her laughter. Max knew the song well; Kendra had once called it her theme song and had spent a week playing it repeatedly until Max knew every last word and note without hesitation.  
  
*****  
  
I'm goin' on a manhunt, turn it around  
Women have been hunted, now they're huntin' around  
Manhunt, we all got the need  
The one that's been waitin' has taken the lead  
  
*****  
  
As Max's movements became more sensual, her body easing into the words and tone of the old song, Cindy leaned over to her and muttered something into Max's ear. Max's eyes flicked towards Logan, a small smile full of wicked intent crossing her pretty features, and she nodded at Cindy. Original Cindy moved away, dancing into the crowd, checking out the girls on the floor hoping to find a vacation fling as she left Max to her own inventions.  
  
Max, for her part, allowed the music to take over, filling her gaze with the sexy image of Logan watching her with eyes that promised burning satisfaction. Her tongue eased over her lips as her body slowed, each movement she made now in half time with the song itself. Her lips curved as she easily recalled the words, and she slowly began to move towards Logan.  
  
*****  
  
I see him every day in the office, he's sexy and he's smooth  
He's good to look me over, but slow to make his move  
I've been sittin' at home by the telephone, hopin' I'm in his plans  
This waiting game is gettin' old, it's time to take matters into my hands  
  
*****  
  
Logan watched Max as she stalked closer, her lips moving to the words, and in his mind it was Max that was singing, only for him. Her hips moved slowly, her arms beckoning him to her. He was on his feet in seconds, moving towards her, his eyes locked on hers. Though his dancing was in no way comparable to hers, her smile widened as he approached, her arms rising over her head as her hips sashayed suggestively and she turned away, affording him a view of her ass so tightly incased in leather that his mouth went instantly dry.  
  
*****  
  
I'm goin' on a manhunt, turn it around  
Women have been hunted, now they're huntin' around  
Manhunt, we all got the need  
The one that's been waitin' has taken the lead  
  
*****  
  
Logan couldn't stop his gaze from traversing her body, his smile slight but his eyes were sparkling with desire. He didn't hear the angered words from a dancer he'd accidentally walked into and didn't notice as he automatically changed direction and began to move towards Max once more. The only thing that filled his sight, his hearing, and his mind was Max, and nothing was going to stop him from reaching her.  
  
*****  
  
Ruby lips in the mirror, lucky heels on the floor  
The future's drawing nearer, I just can't ignore  
I know he'll be at the party tonight, he'll be lookin' so fine  
He'll be surprised when I walk up to say  
Man, I wanna make you glad you're alive  
  
*****  
  
Max's hair had left its generally straight lines and was now around her face, down her chest, her usual style in full disarray. She shook her hair back with a toss of her head, smoothing it down with her hands, her eyes catching Logan's as she allowed her hands to caress her face before trailing down her body, over her barely covered breasts, gliding down to her gyrating hips. Her hands teased the leather clinging to her buttocks before trailing fingers up the ties so low on her hips. Her eyes flared as she caught sight of the desire filling Logan's gaze and she moved to him, her hands repeating her actions previous, but this time on his body.  
  
Her hands ran over his buttocks, squeezing him softly as she grinned into his eyes, pulling her fingers around to move up over his hips, his stomach, rising to settle against his chest. His tongue wet his too dry lips, his breathing deepened, and by the pulse throbbing visibly in his throat, Max knew his heart was beating far too hard.  
  
Every reaction her presence had on his body thrilled her, and she spun, for a brief moment allowing her ass to tease his already hardened body, shooting him a sexy smile over her shoulder before moving away once again. He sighed, grinding his teeth against the discomfort of his erection, but his determination to follow her kept him on track.   
  
*****  
  
I'm goin' on a manhunt, turn it around  
Women have been hunted, now they're huntin' around  
Manhunt, we all got the need  
The one that's been waitin' has taken the lead  
  
*****  
  
Max turned back, only steps ahead of Logan, meeting him as he approached her with a deep kiss, her tongue assaulting his mouth, before again she was out of his grasp. She held up her hand and gave him a saucy wink before suddenly he found her full length pressed up against him. She was still moving to the music, doing incredible things to Logan's body as her body moved in time to the beat. Unable to bring himself to move, he watched in shock as she danced against him, her hands setting his flesh aflame, even through his layers of clothing. Suddenly, Logan realized exactly how hot it was in the club, his lungs burned as he became aware of the desperate need for oxygen. He let the breath he'd been holding slip past his lips in a quiet whoosh, moving his hands to cup Max's buttocks, holding her flush to his body as still she moved. Max ground herself against him hotly, sliding down his body, biting her lip as her darkened eyes met his with wanton pleasure. Logan was forced to bite back a carnal groan that threatened to escape his lips when Max sidled back up his body, her hand sliding between him to cup his erection, giving him a quick squeeze before moving away.  
  
The song began to fade away, the last lines of the chorus repeating one final time before moving into a different, harsher beat of alternative rock, released only a year before. Max shook the last of the fog of seduction from her mind before flashing Logan a shy smile, biting her lip as she wondered what his reaction would be to her overt display of carnal need. He met her smile with one of his own, still dealing with the discomfort of his hardened body, but his eyes sparkled and he wrapped her in his arms for a quick hug.  
  
"Are you trying to kill me?" His words were light and teasing in her ear as he pulled her away from the crowd and back to their table. She laughed as he pulled on her hand, dropping her into his lap as he settled into the chair. She settled back against his chest, pressing her knees up against the side of the bolted down table to brace herself. A waitress interrupted Max's reply, taking their orders for two more beers before disappearing back into the crowd of drinkers and dancers. Logan softly stroked Max's stomach, prodding her side with his free hand. "Well?"  
  
She giggled. "Put too much effort into keepin' you alive to kill you now, Logan."  
  
"Yeah, well, you keep moving like that, I'm guaranteed to have a heart attack." He spoke close to her ear, his words becoming a hot, gentle whisper that teased her softly.  
  
Max turned her head, glancing up to meet Logan's eyes. "I'll stop if you want." Her lips curved into a sexy pout, and she felt Logan's fingers tighten on her hips.  
  
"Don't you dare."  
  
Max laughed quietly, resting her head back against Logan's shoulder as she scanned the crowd for Original Cindy, wondering to where her friend had disappeared. It only took a moment for Max's eyes to pick out the form of her exotic friend, laughing and dancing in the middle of a group of women at the other end of the bar. Cindy looked up and caught Max's eye, lifting her hand in a half wave before turning back to her companions.  
  
Max giggled and sighed, snuggling down into Logan's warm embrace. "We lost Original Cindy. Girls don't know what they're in for."  
  
Logan smiled. "I'm sure they can handle her. She's a great person."  
  
"Damn straight. Think I'd hang around with a loser?"  
  
He chuckled and lowered his lips to her temple, kissing her softly before whispering, "Sketchy."  
  
Max laughed out loud, "Sketchy's a definition all in his own."  
  
The waitress returned with their beers, and Logan and Max settled back as the evening began drawing to a close. By the time they'd arrived at the bar it had been almost ten thirty, they'd been dancing and drinking for over three hours, and with last call coming in less than an hour, they knew the bar would begin clearing out fairly soon.  
  
Logan was fully aware of the stares Max received from every man that passed her by, he even had to chuckle softly once or twice when guys ended up with bruises from their girls' intervention when their stares got too open. A great sense of pride filled his chest knowing that Max was his alone, and that when the men stared, she just snuggled closer into his body.  
  
"So, Max, are you wearing those pants to tease me or the local guys drooling all over themselves?" His eyes sparkled as he teased her, refusing to remember his sharp jealousy a year ago when he'd caught other men checking out her behind. The jealousy was no longer existent inside him; the men could stare all they want, it just served to remind Logan exactly how lucky he truly was.  
  
She leaned her head back, kissing his jaw sweetly. "They're not to tease you, Logan, only showin' you what you got." Her chin jerked in the direction of a group of drunken men who were staring openly, the looks on their faces making the crass conversation they were having regarding Max's outfit blatantly obvious. "Them, I'm teasin'. What they see they can't get." She grinned. "It's somethin' I heard a while ago, dunno where. "Fifty percent of sexual attraction is showing what you got. The other fifty percent is in what they think you got." It's fun."  
  
He chuckled quietly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I'm just starting to realize that." A small yawn escaped his lips and he tightened his hold on Max's body. "Think we can untangle Original Cindy from that group over there and head back? Long drive ahead of us and it's getting late."  
  
Max nodded, stretching out her body before slipping off Logan's lap. "Wouldn't want to tire you out before we get home, baby." She bent down, her lips meeting his gently as she rewarded him with a soft kiss. "Back 'fore you know it."  
  
Knowing that Max could handle herself in the crowd of guys that followed her progress across the dance floor, Logan concentrated on picking up their jackets and settling their tab with the waitress. When his eyes located Max again, she was cutting back towards him, Original Cindy trailing along behind her, waving at the girls she'd spent the evening with. The group of men positioned themselves so that they blocked Max's exit off the dance floor, their eyes devouring her scantily clad body, their lips curved into a disturbing, overly familiar leer.   
  
With the distance that separated them, Logan was unable to hear exactly what was being said but his imagination filled in the blanks. A low anger burned inside him and he started towards Max, his hands curled into fists. This time he wasn't dependant on the chair, this time the battle was on even ground, and this time it was distinctly more personal. This time he wasn't jealous; he was pissed.  
  
"Problem, baby?" Logan's voice dripped sweetness as he shoved past the group of guys and slipped his arm around Max's waist and Cindy's shoulders.  
  
"Not at all, sugar. These boys were just complimenting us on how we look tonight." Max smiled adoringly up at Logan, easily slipping into the role Logan began.  
  
Logan returned her smile, pulling her closer to his side. "That's nice, baby, but you should say goodbye. It's getting late."  
  
Max pouted, but her eyes were sparkling with humor. Considering that between the three of them, the six men facing them were quite likely in mortal danger, the game of showing off became a fun distraction. "Already? But, honey, we just got here."  
  
Original Cindy took her cues from Max and Logan's behavior and curled herself into Logan's free side. She matched Max's pout, and sighed. "Maxie, Logan's no fun anymore. Remember when he'd get all up there 'n dance till dawn?"  
  
Max giggled. "Mmhmm. What happened to you, baby?"  
  
One of the guys stepped forward, his eyes dragging down Max's body to rest on her vinyl encased breasts. "Maybe he's just getting old, baby girl. You come home with me, 'n I guarantee I'm young enough to make you scream."  
  
Logan kept the snarl from curling his lips, keeping his face neutral as Max appeared to consider her options. "I dunno," she said, sweetly, "But that brother over there's doin' serious things to my poor little heart." Her eyes trailed to a guy standing just at the edge of their group. Her face broke into a little smile as he approached.  
  
The guy's face was a mask of pride as he strode up to her, his body displaying the cockiness that only came with believing he was hot stuff. " I'm sayin ma', I could take care of you, yo. We be some hot shit."  
  
Logan could feel Original Cindy stiffen in his embrace, and he knew enough to keep his mouth shut as she untangled herself and took a step forward. "Hell, no, boo, that brotha's got my number any time he want." She moved closer, smiling up at him as she hitched her hip out the side suggestively. "What'd'ya say, daddy, you wanna take me to Heaven?" She smiled sweetly. "I'll take you all the way to Hell."  
  
Cindy's knee came up hard into the man's groin, causing him to double over in pain. "Yo, bitch, what you go do that for? I ain't never done shit to you!"  
  
She shrugged. "Ape's like y'all're why Original Cindy's don't play that game. C'mon, peeps, this shit's wearin' me down."  
  
Logan and Max laughed loudly, moving to press past the five guys remaining on their feet. The group of men moved to block their escape, however, their leers turning to frowns as their arms crossed their chests.  
  
"You think you're just gonna deck one of our boys 'n just walk away, bitch?"   
  
Original Cindy found her arm gripped by one of the guys and she held securely only steps away from Max. Logan, for his part, rolled his eyes and sighed. At least they'd get their exercise tonight. He felt Max pull away from him, dropping into her defensive stance as Logan did the same.   
  
Their challengers met their defense with laughter, rolling up their sleeves. "Lookie at the little girl thinkin' she gonna fight us."  
  
Max suddenly smiled. "Got news for ya, boys, I ain't a little girl."   
  
Logan blinked and missed Max's first kick, catching only the sight of two of the guys flying backwards across the dance floor, and Cindy gripping her suddenly released arm. He chuckled, pushing up his own sleeves and tapping one of the stunned guys on the shoulder. Logan took advantage of the man's confusion and easily dropped him with a single punch. The fellow remaining took one look at Original Cindy approaching him and high tailed it out of the bar. Cindy laughed, amusement filling her features as she shook her head.  
  
"Boo, you find some strange crowds sometimes, y'know?"  
  
Logan glanced at the approaching bouncers and raised an eyebrow. "Time to go, ladies."  
  
They turned for the door quickly, disappearing into the crowd that had gathered around the fallen men, and made their way back to the Aztec without further incident. Logan leaned back in the driver's seat, his lost pride from the incident at Cape Haven finally avenged, and he laughed.  
  
"Well, that was an interesting night."  
  
Max giggled. "Logan?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Drive."  
  
He grinned and shook his head, putting the car in gear, and backing out of the parking lot. As he turned them onto the right road, the girls settled down into their seats for the long drive. They were all looking forward to hitting the cottage, but for far different reasons. Max's eyes caught Logan's momentary glance and she grinned at him, her wink making promises of what the night would hold for him. His grin was wide and he almost imperceptibly increased their speed.   
  
Forty minutes to the cottage? Not when Logan had that much for which to look forward.  
  
End Part Eleven: Night Out, Max and Logan Style 


	12. Part 12

A/N: Hey, everyone. I have to state this before I let you all read this chapter. I did not write this out of spite or bitchiness... it just seemed to work well into the plot at the time. I actually took a lot of consideration when deciding whether or not to listen to my muse when she whispered this into my ear: talked it over with folks, thought about it, and then wrote it. Honestly, honestly, this wasn't in the plan when the story first formed, buuuuuuut... it worked, so it's here.   
  
Anyway, hate me for this if you want to, love me for it if you have the mind to, but please, please don't think I did this out of any personal reasons. It just kinda... clicked.  
  
**sniff** Leave me comforting messages would ya? LOL Three VCRs in three different rooms managed to screw up in three different ways tonight, so now I'm stuck waiting until some kind soul uploads tonight's episode to their fserve so that I can dl it and finally get over these withdrawal pains. I'm not a happy girl right now, that's for sure. What's worse? I was even supposed to be home in time for the show... but no.. I'm a good employee and stayed behind to make sure a deal got out with no problem, so I didn't get home until five minutes after the show ended. Found out my kid took the tape out of the VCR in his room to watch a movie and didn't bother putting mine back in after. Some kind soul **cough - dog** stepped on the remote to the VCR in my living room and turned the power on, so the timer didn't go off. The VCR in my bedroom decided to eat its tape. So now I'm DA-less for at least two more days. Not a happy girl doesn't even BEGIN to describe my mood right now. **sigh** Okay, there's my rant for tonight. LOL  
  
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.  
  
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P  
  
They're not mine, I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P  
  
  
  
Towards the Sunset  
  
  
Part Twelve: The Bubble Burst  
  
  
By: Danae Bowen  
  
  
Email: logansfox@rogers.com  
  
  
  
//God, I could get used to this.//   
  
A slow smile spread across Max's features as she watched Logan sleep peacefully beside her. She'd moved away from him when she realized tonight would be one of those nights she wouldn't be closing her eyes and slipping away, no matter how much energy she'd expended.  
  
His eyes were blinking rapidly as he dreamed, a small smile pulling at his lips. Max brushed his hair off his forehead, her fingers tender as she stroked his cheek. He was so peaceful, all the lines of the day having faded away, and the slow burn inside her desperately wanted to wake him, bring him to life so he could please her in the ways only Logan knew.  
  
She laughed softly, turning to lie on her back but keeping her eyes on his face. She knew she was in love; just laying there instead of finding something to keep herself occupied proved it, to Max at least. Of course, the desire that blazed through her at his every glance, the stupid smile that she'd only just learned existed that crept across her face every time she caught sight of him, and that queasy, nervous turning her stomach performed whenever he stood just a little bit too close were pretty good indications as well. All in all, Max knew she was screwed, but she couldn't bring herself to worry; as long as she was lying next to Logan, what did it matter anyway? Next to Original Cindy, Logan was probably her best friend; he knew just about everything there was to know about Max, and none of it seemed to bother him. In fact, Max was pretty damn sure that Logan loved her back.  
  
Needing to do something other than stare at Logan until he woke up, Max reached over to the desk and picked up Logan's laptop. Careful not to shake the bed any more than necessary, Max eased her back up against the headboard and pulled the computer onto her lap as she booted it up and online. For a long while, Max ignored the email message icon, not wanting the real world to intrude on their time away. She knew they had more important things to worry about than horny twenty some things hitting on her, or discovering how many times a night they could make love before passing out, but in the middle of the night, so far away from Seattle and the trouble there, Max just couldn't bring herself to care. Alec had Sketchy and Joshua's backs, Original Cindy was safe with them, there was just no one left that Max truly cared about. She doubted that the big bads were going to go after Normal, after all, what kind of punishment would that be? Kendra hadn't been hanging around since Max got back from Manticore, so Max doubted that any one who didn't know Max personally knew Kendra had been a friend. There was no one left in Seattle that was in danger.  
  
Max chuckled softly, she hadn't, until that moment, realized exactly how small a circle of friends she and Logan really had. Most of his acquaintances were Eyes Only contacts, no one that could really be put in danger by associating with them more than normal. Most of her friends were already taken care of; the circle was small enough that it rested in the capable hands of one quasi-insane X-5. She supposed if they hid out at the cottage long enough, the villain of the week would lose interest, or make a mistake, and the whole mess would be forgotten about, but something didn't sit right with her.  
  
Max had thought about the people she and Logan had faced over the last two years, and then considered who among them would have the ability and cash flow to get their hands on such a large amount of explosives, not to mention the small army that had been set on their trail. Alec had mentioned at least ten henchmen that attacked him; add on to that the unidentified number of people that had entered her apartment, as well as those that set up the bomb threat at Logan's. She shook her head, chewing on her lip softly as her mind did the calculations. If they'd seen the entire force as of now, that likely meant they were going up against two dozen armed goons, on top of whoever was the brains of this operation.   
  
Unfortunately, knowing that the person coming after them had a large supply of cash didn't narrow her list of suspects by much. Most of the people Eyes Only went after were more than just well off, which meant it could be any one of them, or a relative of any one of them, and that left Max with more questions than answers.  
  
She clicked on a program that would leave notes on the computer's desktop and typed in a few thoughts, ending with a note to tell Logan to hack into the Seattle records of parole. The easiest way to narrow the list would be to find out who had motive, access, and means to get it done. For that, she needed Logan's more than capable fingers.  
  
She grinned, a slow blush creeping up her neck as she thought about everything Logan's long fingers were more than capable of doing to her. She'd discovered a lot of things about Logan that surprised her in the last thirty hours; the man had an imagination that would make most of the old Harlequin romance writers blush. Max almost regretted the two years that had passed between the day she met him and the last few days, but part of the thrill that filled her now was knowing that she and Logan had survived too many trials to fall apart as easily as she and Darren had. This time, things were going to be different.  
  
Max causally sifted through Logan's computer files, entertaining herself with the few games that were loaded onto the desktop as the sky began to lighten outside their window. When another hour had passed, and Max was sick of beating the pathetic computer version of Battle Chess, she finally clicked on the blinking icon and accessed Logan's email.  
  
The first email was from Matt. They'd made some progress in the case and had a list of suspects that they were currently looking into. Matt also made mention that if Logan should want the list, email him and the cop would have the list copied and sent out as soon as possible. It, however, was the second email that captured Max's attention, making her gasp aloud. Her face grew pale and she bit down hard on her lower lip, trying to will her hands to stop the shaking that had suddenly affected her entire body.  
  
"Logan." Her voice shook as her eyes showed horror at the message she was looking at. There was one person she'd forgotten about, one friend they'd forgotten to warn, and the worst part of it all was that she was the one most obvious to be the next target. "Logan, wake up!" She didn't take her eyes off the screen as her hand swung out, striking his chest hard. "I need you awake now!"  
  
His eyes fluttered, a frown creasing his features when moments ago he'd been at peace with the world. "Max? What's wrong?" His voice was fogged with sleep, his eyes bleary as his hand came up to run over his face, trying to fully bring himself awake.  
  
"We have to go home. Today. Now." Her voice was cold and toneless, causing the haze on Logan's face to clear away instantly. He pulled himself upright, leaning against the headboard for support as he pulled the computer onto his own lap.  
  
The images that were included in the email open on screen were horrifying, but not enough so that Logan didn't instantly recognize the face, features distorted by agony, of his old friend. The message itself was very simple. "One down, how many more to go before you give up, Eyes Only? You can't really think I'm going to stop here? Don't worry, though. She died quickly enough. The rest we just did for fun."  
  
"Oh, shit, no." His face paled as quickly as Max's had, his throat working heavily to swallow the threats his stomach was making against what remained of the food and liquid he'd consumed the night before.  
  
"We didn't tell her. She didn't know." Max's eyes blazed her horrification, regret and guilt. Her fingers gripped his arm hard as she came to terms with what she was seeing. Max may have been raised as a soldier, a killer, she may have seen things far worse than what she was looking at now, but it had rarely been someone Logan called a friend.  
  
"Asha." Logan's voice was deepened by regret, his sadness apparent in his eyes. "Goddamnit!" His arm came back hard, connecting his elbow with the headboard, using the pain to bring his mind out of the cloud of anger, among other emotions, threatening to overwhelm him.   
  
"It's not your fault, Logan."   
  
"The hell it's not! Goddamnit, Max, I should have warned her! If he was going to come after you, why the hell didn't I realize he would come after Asha next? I'm a goddamn idiot!"  
  
Max slid the laptop out of his grip as his actions threatened to send it crashing to the floor. He struggled to pull himself out of the bed and into the wheelchair, moving himself over to the exosuit and quickly donning it with rapid, jerky movements.  
  
"God, Logan, don't you think I feel this, too? If I'd stayed in town, he'd have just kept coming after me and damnit, I could've taken him!" Max's eyes blazed with anger as she tracked his movements in a solid stare.  
  
He sat down on the foot of the bed, laying his head in his hands as his shoulders shook. He wasn't crying, but the force of guilt wracked through him harder than even grief. "You never liked her, Max. You don't know what kind of person she really was. She was good and she cared. She was a friend."  
  
Max moved down to the end of the bed, kneeling behind him and taking him into her arms. "I may not have liked her, Logan, but that doesn't mean I don't care. I'm not as cold hearted as you seem to think."  
  
He sighed, leaning back into her arms, shaking his head. "I don't think you're cold, I'm sorry. I just keep thinking what I could have done to stop this."  
  
Max answered his sigh, resting her chin on his head. "She's dead, Logan. There's nothing we can do about that now. What we can do is go home and get this guy."  
  
"You have a plan?"  
  
She nodded and shifted, sitting beside him on the bed. "We go back to Seattle and make our arrival as public as possible."  
  
He looked at her, his eyes burning in concern. "He'll come after you."  
  
Her face was blank, the cold soldier expression of determination having instantly taken over. "I know. When he does, I'll kill him."  
  
"Max, this isn't your fight."  
  
"Yes, it is. Some asshole goes and threatens my friends' lives and my own, it's my fight. He does it to get at the guy I love? It's my fight. He kills someone I know, then Goddamnit, it's my fight!" She captured his face in her hands and made him look into her eyes, for the moment not caring that she'd just told him how she felt. This wasn't the time or place to discuss matters of the heart, all of that could wait until later; all that mattered right now was getting through to him. "I can do something about this, Logan. Alec and Joshua'll get my back. We can't fix it, but we can finish it."  
  
Logan stared at her for long, quiet minutes, gathering his thoughts, coming to terms with what had happened and what could still happen. He'd lost Max for three months, believed her dead, tried to move on and had failed. Now, he realized exactly how deeply in love with her he'd been every minute of the two years they'd been friends. Losing Asha was hard, his heart clutched at the thought of her and how responsible he was for the loss of her, but losing Max would be unsurpassable. How could he let her go into yet another battle knowing that he loved her and could very well lose her permanently?  
  
Could he let her walk into this situation, hearing her words repeating in his mind forever, "The guy I love"? Could he let her go, again, when it really mattered, and trust in Max to come back? Or if he let her go would she end up like Asha, cold and dead, immortalized by the callous use of a digital camera and the information super highway?  
  
Still, her brown eyes met his with a challenge of her own. Max wasn't Asha. Max didn't need guns and knives to make her way out of sticky situations. Max didn't want or need any more back up than a phone call to Alec would secure for her. Max wouldn't allow herself to be killed by someone who wasn't her equal, and very few people in this world could equal the power she held deep inside. His gaze softened as he met the determination in her eyes, and he nodded.  
  
"You'd better wake up Original Cindy. Give her a choice. She can come back with us, but it'll be two days in the car. We'll switch off driving and sleeping. Or she can stay here. Peter's given us the cottage for the month. He won't mind if it's just Original Cindy staying, hell, he won't even know. Let her know she'll be safer here anyway, but whatever she wants to do, we're leaving in an hour."  
  
Max blinked, expecting a fight against her plan, and was left momentarily speechless by having him acquiesce as quickly as he had. She shook herself slightly, clamping down on her confusion as she nodded and climbed to her feet. "So we're doing this my way?"  
  
He nodded again, his expression only slightly reluctant. "Your way, Max." He sighed, getting to his feet and pulling the suitcase off the floor. "We finish this, now."  
  
Max left Logan deep in thought as she made her way upstairs, heading first to Original Cindy's bedroom. She couldn't claim to know exactly what was going through Logan's head at that moment, but she knew his thoughts were unkind. She'd been responsible for too many deaths over the years to not understand what he was feeling. The least Max could do, as a soldier and a friend, was put an end to the whole thing as fast as she could. Terrorism didn't go over very well with her, and that's what this basically amounted to; they were being held hostage by fear, and now by guilt and pain. That was all going to end when they got back to Seattle. She'd make sure of it.  
  
Original Cindy was deeply asleep when Max sat on the edge of her bed, a hand moving to rest on her friend's shoulder.   
  
"Hey, girl, wake up. Got some bad news."  
  
End Part 12: The Bubble Burst 


	13. Part 13

A/N: Well, the end is almost upon us. I'll be posting the final three chapters of Towards the Sunset tomorrow evening. For now, here is part thirteen. Originally this had been a fifteen part piece... but I ended up adding a chapter as I went along, so instead of dragging this out until Monday, I'll just finish it tomorrow like I had originally planned.  
  
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.  
  
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P  
  
They're not mine, I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P  
  
  
  
Towards the Sunset  
  
  
Part Thirteen: Setting the Trap  
  
  
By: Danae Bowen  
  
  
Email: logansfox@rogers.com  
  
  
  
The drive home was far too irritatingly quiet for Max's liking. Original Cindy had opted to stay at the cottage under the condition that when Max and Logan take care of whoever was on their case, they'd return to finish out the vacation they'd all started together. They'd listened to her conditions and nodded, knowing that with the difficulty of this mission, by the time everything was said and done, they'd need the last few weeks to wind down.  
  
Before they'd left, Logan had emailed the pictures of Asha to Matt, giving him Asha's address and explaining about Max's plan to return to the city. Matt would try to back them up as best as possible, but for the most part, Max and Logan would be completely reliant on themselves and Logan's men.   
  
Now, they'd been on the road for over thirty hours and only the barest of conversations had passed their lips. They'd stopped only quickly for gasoline and fast foods they could eat along the way, switching seats sometime every six to eight hours to make sure they made it back to Seattle as fast as humanly possible. Finally, Max shifted in the passenger seat, her muscles stiffened from hours of little movement, and she groaned.  
  
"Logan, we need to stop soon or my body's never gonna be able to bend that way you liked so much again." She tried to lighten their moods, slipping a sparkle into her eyes to let him know she was teasing.  
  
He afforded her a quick grin, but it didn't reach his eyes. "We should be coming up on a truck stop fairly soon. We'll stop there and you can stretch out. Spend an hour, get food."  
  
She sighed. The hours were passing too slowly for Max; she wasn't used to long periods of rest and the energy she'd felt building up on the way to the cottage was nothing compared to the tense energy that now flowed through her body. She needed out, and she needed out now.  
  
"Get there. Fast. I'm gonna go crazy."  
  
Logan glanced at her and worried at the edge in her eyes. He knew how special Max's body was and he supposed that two days of little to no motion were starting to get to her. The first leg of their journey had been easier; she'd slept most of his eight hours behind the wheel, catching up on what she'd missed the night before. After that, she'd fidgeted for most of the remaining hours, desperate to be in action. He sighed. The hour was getting late and no matter how fast they got back to Seattle, Asha would still be dead. He shook his head. He supposed there was no sense driving through the night again, especially not with Max as wound up as she was at the moment. Odds were good that if she had too much energy to waste, she'd become careless in a battle and make a mistake. He wasn't going to have her death on his conscience as well.  
  
"Listen, we'll stop at a motel. Spend the night. Take the last few hours tomorrow." He glanced at her and was rewarded with a measure of relief spreading over her features.  
  
"Thank you." Her words were filled with honest gratitude, as at last a break from the monotonous journey was visible.  
  
Two hours passed and finally Logan pulled into a motel. Max was out of the car in an instant, stretching out her tightened muscles. While he went inside to get them a room, she pulled their over night bags out of the car and hefted them to her shoulder, glorying in the feeling of blood flowing through her veins.   
  
Logan returned moments later with a key, cocking his head at her to follow him to their room. His silence was deafening, the death of Asha seemingly pulling from him the will to communicate. That was the second issue that was making Max jumpy; at least in the past, aside from his suicide attempt after returning to his chair, Logan had been mostly open with her. Right now, he was behaving much as she had after the death of Ben: quiet, withdrawn, holding themselves accountable for something that only in retrospect could have been avoided. She shook her head sadly as he moved immediately out of her sight and into the bathroom, running himself a shower as she sat back upon the bed.  
  
She was waiting for him when he returned, sitting cross-legged, staring at the bathroom door until he finally stepped through.  
  
"You gonna talk to me, or you gonna get all martyr on me and forget we're in this together?" Max was through with subtlety.  
  
"There's nothing to talk about." His eyes shifted away from hers and he turned, finding something incredibly interesting in his suitcase to keep his attention.  
  
"Obviously, since you haven't said more than ten words to me in the last thirty something hours. Don't you know me better than that, Logan? For God's sake, what haven't we been through for you to treat me like I'm nobody again?" Her words were sharp, her eyes burning into his back as she waited for his reaction.  
  
"I don't know how many ways I can say this, Max, but there is nothing to talk about. I'm angry. That's all. I'll get over it."  
  
Her teeth ground at the sound of his short and clipped sentences, her eyes narrowing in frustration. Sentences came to Max's lips without forethought, and each word cut off, her tone matching his in coldness and anger. "That's great then, Logan. You sit on your ass and pity yourself all you want 'cause God forbid the great and powerful Eyes Only misses somethin' and someone dies. Well, you know what? You're not fuckin' perfect. You can't see the future just 'cause you want to. You think I don't feel bad that I didn't think of Asha? I was too busy makin' sure my peeps asses were covered to remember the blonde, so I'm just as much at fault here as you. So, what, you hate me now, 'cause I ain't psychic? 'Cause there's no sense hatin' yourself if you're not willin' to hate me too. Partners, remember? We're fuckin' equal, babe, so you better snap outta this funk, fast, unless you want my foot and your ass to have a party. 'N believe me, if that happens, my foot'd have a better time then your ass."  
  
She was on her feet in a second, paused to grab the room key off the dresser, and had the door half open before he found his voice. "Max, wait." She turned back, still holding the door open, her body stiff with antagonism but she waited for him to speak instead of storming out. "I'm sorry. I just don't know how else to deal with this. I promised Asha I'd help her; she trusted me and I let her get killed. It's just hard to accept."  
  
Max sighed and closed the door, coming back to wrap her arms around Logan, holding him gently. "You just gotta deal."  
  
She led him to the bed, sitting him down, and began to talk. The only way she knew to let him know she understood was to tell him everything about Ben, from the death of the unnamed man when they were kids, to breaking Ben's neck deep in the woods, leaving his body for Lydecker to find and take away for whatever testing Manticore wanted to do. She'd kept the feelings she'd had about Ben buried deep within her, not sharing them with anyone because of the guilt that stained her soul. Everything that had happened to Ben represented a side of her she didn't want exposed, even to Logan, but to help him deal with his own guilt, she'd cut open her soul. Her own feelings meant very little when it came down to Logan's well being, they were too close for her to hold anything back.  
  
They talked long into the night, Logan listening to her closely as she revealed everything he'd wondered about that time only just over a year ago. His mind had put together the pieces of what had happened just by her reactions, and the addition of Lydecker's gift of photographs from Max's youth, but to hear it from her own lips was something different. Before the night had passed, Logan actually found himself telling Max about meeting Asha for the first time years before, the state of mind he'd been in when she'd arrived in Seattle a year previous, and even the conversations he'd had with Asha regarding his relationship with Max. Both Max and Logan had realized early that Asha had been hoping for a deeper relationship with Logan, but Max's existence had made that impossible. They discussed everything from his feelings towards Asha to his feelings towards her death, and even Max's feelings about both. For once, their conversation wasn't interrupted by arguments or accusations, there were no raised voices and no sharp tones, instead it came down to being hours of sharing the emotions they held deep inside and somehow it made the situation better.   
  
When the sun was just beginning to lighten the sky, they found themselves in each other's arms, making slow love until they reached their mutual completion. There was no frenzy of release, no desperate need to make life real, no anger they were trying to chase out of their minds; there were only soft touches, gentle movements, and the sweetest end to an emotionally straining day, that seemed to bring them closer together, emotionally and physically, then they'd ever been before.  
  
When the moment had passed, and Logan's eyes began to flutter shut, Max pressed a soft kiss to his temple, smoothing away his dampened hair. She found a gentle place inside her that she never knew existed when she was at Logan's side, and she knew that any sacrifice she made would be worth it to keep that feeling alive.  
  
*****  
  
They entered Seattle the next day before dark, driving straight to Logan's apartment where they could gather their thoughts and begin to put their plan into motion. The first thing Logan had to do was to call Matt for the list of suspects the police had managed to put together. In an instant, Logan had cross-referenced the list against the postings of recent parolees, and then crossed that against a list displaying their financial status. Before they'd even announced their presence to Seattle, they had the list narrowed down to three people.  
  
Karl Tracovitch: Months before Logan and Max had brought down his empire when he was found to be distributing experimental mind control drugs to several government officials. He had been fined a sum of money that made the hair rise on Max's neck, but only given six months time in prison. He'd been released only two weeks previous and had the cash flow to make anything happen he wanted, putting him right at the top of their list. At the time, he'd captured Logan and had been preparing to torture him for Eyes Only contact information when Max had once again arrived in the nick of time, saving the day. They'd been unsure as to whether Tracovitch had uncovered Logan's identity as Eyes Only, but the possibility couldn't be denied: then or now.  
  
Pointer Dietz: A computer hacker, embezzling millions of dollars from companies across America. Logan had stumbled upon him when it came to be known he was financing several overseas terrorist organizations with the cash he'd stolen away from several major organizations. He'd been able to hack into Logan's Eyes Only broadcasts, effectively silencing Logan for long weeks before Max had managed to track him down. Dietz still had a ready cash flow, and as he was involved in what amounted to mostly white collar crime, having buried any information trail leading back to his terrorist contacts, he'd been released from prison inside of a year. Having once hacked into Eyes Only, Logan had no doubt that Dietz would be able to uncover his identity if he had gained more than just external access to Logan's computer files.  
  
Viktoria Graines: A state senator who'd been using her contacts as a politician to bury information that could effectively boost the smothering American economy. She'd been paid by almost every country that had a poor history with America to keep the economy in a slump so that America would have no chance at recovering their status as a superpower. Max and Logan had little doubt that there were others in the government involved in the same activities, but Graines had managed to keep herself in a single cell, avoiding all paper trails and evidence connecting her with any others in her grand scheme. She had been a close family friend of the Cale's, and had the funds to seek out and destroy Eyes Only for the broadcast made regarding her status as an American.  
  
It chilled Logan to realize exactly how easy it would be to track down Eyes Only if people had the money and the will to make it happen. It honestly made him wonder if Lydecker hadn't known earlier than he displayed of Logan's status, Manticore having everything necessary to seek him out, but pushed the thought out of his mind. He'd tighten his Eyes Only security codes at a later date, today they had a killer to seek out and he needed as much information as possible to see that Max made it through the next hours alive.  
  
Going through his files, Logan picked up a recent case that he'd not yet made a broadcast regarding. He glanced over at Max, waiting for her confirmation that she was, indeed, prepared to go through with her plan, before booting up the computers and recording the cable hack. It took only minutes after the hack was recorded for it to hit the airwaves, and together they watched the televisions knowing that as soon as their suspect saw the broadcast, it would be time for Max to act.  
  
"You realize we're doing exactly what he wants?" Logan's voice was low, his tone holding a defeated note that made Max take a step closer to him, resting her hands on his shoulders.  
  
"Letting Asha's death bring us back to town?" She nodded. "Yeah, I know. But he's not expecting to have two X-5's and Joshua waiting for him when he gets here."  
  
"Did you get in contact with them?"  
  
She nodded again, holding her hand open so he could see the cell phone she was holding. "Alec's gone to Joshua's. They'll be here as soon as it gets dark enough for Joshua to not be noticed." She glanced down at the blue prints of his building that they'd laid out over his desk, and began pointing out the weak spots in their perimeter. "Joshua's gonna take the roof." She smiled. "And lay low till I say so." Logan managed a weak grin at Max's use of one of Joshua's favorite sayings. "He's to stay and watch you."  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
She shrugged. "Alec and I are gonna make ourselves more visible. Head back to my place, check out the damage type thing, stand in the windows. Anywhere our friend expects to find me, he's gonna find me." She smiled sarcastically. "And then I'm gonna beat the shit outta his goons until they tell me where I'm gonna find him."  
  
"I know I don't have to tell you this, Max, but, please, be careful." His blue eyes shone with concern, and Max smiled at him reassuringly, moving to sit in his lap for a moment, resting her head against his chest.  
  
"We'll get this done." She grinned. "Be back 'fore you know I'm gone."  
  
He sighed and shook his head, softly stroking her back as they waited for the tell tale signs of Joshua and Alec's arrival. Thirty minutes passed before there came a sound at the skylight, and the upside down head of Joshua peeked into the penthouse.  
  
"Max?"  
  
Max laughed softly, she and Logan moving into the hallway to glance up at Joshua. "Hey, big fella." Her eyes were warm and full of pleasure to see her transgenic friend.  
  
"Hey, little fella." His eyebrow rose as he caught sight of Logan's arm around Max's shoulder. "Virus bitch kicked?"  
  
She nodded, leaning closer to Logan and smiling up at Joshua. "In a big way."  
  
He smiled, his sharp teeth glinting in the low light of the penthouse. "Max 'n Logan gettin' it on! That's the plan! Joshua told Max you'd see."  
  
Original Cindy's words at the cottage the day before came back to Logan's mind, and suddenly he understood. Between Joshua and Original Cindy, Max hadn't been allowed to forget what she and Logan were fighting to achieve; he chuckled and shook his head as a low flush crept up Max's neck.   
  
"Yeah, big fella, you certainly did." Max's smile was honest as she glanced between her friends, but soon business took over and she was laying out the new plan for Joshua. "Joshua, you got Logan's back tonight, okay?"  
  
He nodded. "Joshua protect Logan, okay. Got it."  
  
Max scanned the backdrop of the skylight, noticing that Joshua was alone. "Where's Alec?"  
  
Joshua shrugged, cocking his head in the dim light as if searching for a particular sound. "Almost to ground now. Meet Max downstairs. Joshua stay on roof, get Logan's back."  
  
Max nodded. "You got it. Keep it real, big fella."  
  
"Stayin' cool."  
  
Joshua disappeared back onto the roof, and if they listened carefully they could hear him moving around, checking the perimeter. Max nodded in satisfaction, turning back to Logan one more time. "You'll be safe. If there's any trouble, page me."  
  
He nodded. "Remember what I said?"  
  
She laughed softly, bending to press a soft kiss against his lips. "Before you know I'm gone."  
  
Within moments, Max had disappeared through the front door and was on her way down to meet Alec below. Logan sighed and moved to the window, listening for the sound of her bike, knowing when he heard it that there was a good chance he may never see Max again.  
  
End Part Thirteen: Setting the Trap 


	14. Part 14

A/N: Well, here we go. In case I forget to say so later, thank you all so very much for each and every review. To have received over a hundred reviews on this fic amazed me, as it's a record number for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone; every review you've given me has breathed excitement into me over this fic, which in turn, I hope, comes through in my writing.  
  
As promised, over the next several hours I will be posting the three final chapters to Towards the Sunset. The time between each chapter's posting will depend on how long it takes for me to edit them. The fic is finished, however, and you will see the ending before the night is through. :)  
  
Alec and I don't really get along. I love the character, but I don't write him all that well, so I apologize in advance. The 20 Questions Alec, however, you can thank Aquila for. :) We wrote that scene for fun, she writing for Alec and myself for Max, and it was just so neat that I decided to include it into this chapter. *G* Feel like playing again, girl? 'Cause I've got a back load of insults stored up now. :P  
  
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.  
  
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P  
  
They're not mine, I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P  
  
  
  
Towards the Sunset  
  
  
Part Fourteen: Soldier in Girl's Clothing  
  
  
By: Danae Bowen  
  
  
Email: logansfox@rogers.com   
  
  
Max's heart was heavy as she rode the elevator down from Logan's penthouse. She knew that Joshua was nothing if not an excellent protector; Joshua knew how much Logan meant to Max, and would defend Logan with his life. That's what concerned Max the most; she couldn't lose Logan for any reason, not now or ever, but she also wasn't prepared to lose Joshua. He was her only physical link to this mysterious Sandeman person, and he was her friend. Max was responsible for Joshua's life on the outside; losing him was as much of a non-option as was losing Logan.  
  
"Took you long enough. Fur Face forget to tell you I was waiting out here?"  
  
Now, Alec, she was prepared to lose. She rolled her eyes at the cocky, God's gift wannabe waiting for her in the shadows.  
  
"Joshua told me. I just didn't give a damn." Max's voice was harsh as she unlocked her bike from Logan's parking spot.  
  
"Anyone ever tell you that you're a cold woman?"  
  
"Only the freaks about to decorate the sidewalk with brain matter."  
  
"Ouch." He eyed the bike casually. "Can I drive?"  
  
Max's face crinkled in disbelief as she stared at him. "Yeah, that'll happen. I'm just gonna give over my bike's keys to a guy that not only annoys me just by breathing, but that I also happen to hate? Don't think so."  
  
"Aw, c'mon, Maxie. What's your problem? I paid you back, the virus is cured, and you're all busy making squishing noises with the wallet; isn't it time to forgive and forget?"  
  
"Believe me, if I could forget you, I would. I've tried but you're just too God awful to repress for long."  
  
"You sure know how to thank a guy for risking his skin to help you out."  
  
She flashed him a sarcastic grin before gunning the Ninja's engine. "It's in the genes." She waited expectantly for a moment before glaring at him in frustration. "Would you get your ass on the bike already?"  
  
Alec sighed and straddled the bike behind Max, making sure to pull her a little too close to his body, resting his chin on her shoulder. "This is nice," he murmured suggestively in her ear, snuggling closer.  
  
"Yeah, if you define nice as about to have your extremities ripped off your body."  
  
"You wouldn't dare, Max."  
  
She smiled sweetly. "Find me a hacksaw and drop your pants." With that she slammed the bike into gear, shooting them forward. Alec gasped and grabbed a hold of his seat to keep from falling backwards as the inertia sent him off balance.  
  
Max shook her head, trying to forget about Alec who was now hanging on to the back of the seat. Alec's very presence annoyed her in any capacity, and tonight, he wasn't doing anything to help her dispel her rather poor image of him. She thanked whatever force watching out for her that he managed to keep his mouth shut long enough for them to cross sectors and she shut the bike off outside her apartment. His eyes betrayed his appall at the outside view of her building, but Max shrugged it off. She didn't give a damn what he thought anyway; besides, her crib may be a dive, but at least it was a roof over her head when she needed some place to crash.  
  
"Your crazy roommate gonna be here?"  
  
Max half grinned as she let them into the building and began hauling the bike up the stairs. "She's still at the cottage. Probably picked up a coupla pretty chicks 'n is having herself a hot tub party. Meanwhile, I'm stuck here with you, getting ready to get my ass shot off. Ain't life great?"  
  
Alec picked up his pace, reaching the landing ahead of her and leaning against her doorframe. "So you figure soon's we open this door we'll hear a pop 'n see a flash and that'll be it?"  
  
Max glared at him and shook her head. "Nah. We'll be dead before the sound registers."  
  
"Good to know."  
  
She opened the door and walked through; her senses were on alert but her body remained at ease. "Relax. Logan's had guys on the place all week."  
  
"Then what're we doing here?"  
  
"Bait. We're pretty sure buddy's got the place staked out, so we're gonna sit here for a bit and see who walks through the door."  
  
Alec's face slipped into a saucy grin as he walked around her apartment, stopping at the entrance to her bedroom and lifting an eyebrow. "So, what're we gonna do to pass the time?"  
  
"Alec?"  
  
"Max?"  
  
"Not even if I was in heat."  
  
*****  
  
Max was beginning to believe that her plan was going to fail. She and Alec had been kicking back in her apartment for four hours, and Max was beginning to feel her stomach roll at the words Alec was spelling out on her scrabble game. She'd already kicked his ass three games straight in chess, beat him at poker only to have to beg him to keep his clothes on, and now was getting tired of suggestive scrabble. Suddenly she understood what Original Cindy had been feeling the last time she'd asked her friend to help her through her heat.  
  
"We seriously need to get a new game going here. I'm so sick of this." Max slumped back in her chair, glancing out the window, praying to see someone with a gun getting ready to blow her away.  
  
"Okay, how about 20 questions."  
  
Max raised her eyebrow. "When did you go all boy scout on me?"  
  
Alec shrugged innocently. "Hey, you're the one that wanted something new to do. Just give it a go, who knows, you might like it." Max raised an eyebrow and looked at him skeptically. Alec sighed. "Right, forgot who I was talking to. You don't enjoy anything that doesn't involve Logan Cale."  
  
"Just pick your object, Alec, 'n get this over with."  
  
Alec paused a moment, glancing around the apartment, feigning deep thought. "Um… okay, got one. Fire away."  
  
Max rolled her eyes and collapsed back onto her sofa. "Is it alive?"  
  
Alec grinned. "Technically, yes."  
  
"Is it something we'd see every day?"  
  
"Not every day, no."  
  
"Is it dangerous?"  
  
Alec's grin widened. "Depends on how you use it."  
  
Max frowned, her arms crossing her chest as she glared at him suspiciously. "Am I gonna hafta kick your ass when I find out what it is?"  
  
Alec flashed her a wounded look. "Damnit, Max, have you no faith in me?"  
  
Max lifted an eyebrow. "Hell, no. Just answer the question."  
  
"No. Now get your mind out of the gutter."  
  
"Give me the chance 'n I'll show you a gutter," she muttered, quietly. The strength of Max's disbelieving gaze didn't lessen, but she sighed. "Is it a plant?"  
  
Alec's eyes sparked and he leaned back into his chair. "Actually, yeah. What'd you think it was?"  
  
Max rolled her eyes. "When it's comin' outta your mind, I'm not even tryin' to guess."  
  
"Ah, gee, Max, that was almost a compliment. So, let's see, how many questions do you have left?"  
  
Max sighed deeply. "Does it really matter?"  
  
"Ah, Max, you see, you have to play by the rules."  
  
Max resisted the urge to puke, contenting herself with looking away from the cocky man sitting in front of her. "You're preachin' to me? When've you ever bothered playing by the rules, Alec?"  
  
"Hey, I'm not the one who took a header out of a second story window at the age of nine and ran away from my creators."  
  
Max sniffed. "Right, and staying behind perfecting the Captain America complex was *such* a better option." She rolled her eyes. "Are we playin' or should I just keep shootin' you down, cause I'm actually almost amused now."  
  
"I didn't know you had a sense of humor."  
  
Max shot him a small smile. "Then we're even, 'cause I didn't know you had a brain you didn't sit on."  
  
He grinned. "See, I knew your mind was in the gutter."  
  
"Hard to keep from slummin' when you're in the room, Alec. You just bring it out in people."  
  
"And here I thought it was my winning personality that kept you coming back for more."  
  
Max was beginning to run out of come backs, her mind divided between insulting Alec and keeping an eye on their perimeter. As fun as insulting Alec could be, their routine was getting old. "Your personality wouldn't attract flies. Are we still playing here, 'cause if not, I'm gonna throw myself out the window now."  
  
"Although I've been told that's a particular talent of yours, I'm still playin'. Next question."  
  
Max flashed him a sweet smile, thinking of the many plants that contained deadly poisons. "Is it something I'd consider spikin' your beer with?"  
  
"Unless you have some particular insight into this species of which I'm unaware, no."  
  
"Damn, and here I was hopin' for a happy ending." She sighed. "Can it be eaten?"  
  
"In many ways, yes."  
  
"Is it expensive?"  
  
"Isn't everything these days?"  
  
Max shot Alec a glare, revising her question. "Is it worth the expense?"  
  
Before Alec had the chance to respond, the door to the apartment burst open, sending both X-5s to their feet in an instant. Max dove left as Alec threw himself right, avoiding the bullets that suddenly filled the room. Max used the wall beside her as a ricochet, sending her body up and over the group of men that were beginning to fill her living room. Alec landed in front of them, the two soldiers effectively cornering the intruders between them.  
  
The room was filled with a flurry of motion and the sound of bone connecting with flesh; Alec went down hard once, catching Max as she flew in his direction, landing on top of him. He grinned at her as he helped push her to her feet. "Always knew the sarcasm was a charade, Max, but you're just not my type."  
  
The breath was knocked out of his lungs as Max purposely tossed one of the men into Alec, knocking him back to the floor. "You're breakin' my heart, but I guess having a higher I.Q. than a cow would turn you off."  
  
Their conversation ground to a halt as their concentration was pulled fully into battle. Soon all that could be heard were the groans of the men, most now lying prone on the floor, and the heavy breathing of two relatively unscathed X-5s.  
  
"Well, that was fun."  
  
Max turned to look at Alec incredulously, delicately picking her way around the carnage that used to be her living room floor. "Yeah, maybe when it's not your floor covered in blood."  
  
"What's the matter, Maxie, red not on this years in list for the decoration of dives?"  
  
"And what's your cardboard box lookin' like these days?"  
  
Alec moved up behind her, his hand hovering just away from her back. "Mmm, I like kitties with claws."  
  
"Hacksaw. Extremities. Fun." Max gave him her sweetest smile before bending down and pulling one of the intruders up by their hair. "Hey, you awake?" The man groaned as he tried to focus his eyes on her face. "Yeah, I'm talking to you. Who sent you?"  
  
He shook his head weakly, blood dribbling out of the corner of his lip. From the sound of his groans and the way he clutched at his body, Max figured he probably had a couple of severely broken ribs. She gripped his hair harder, pulling him back until his broken bones ground against one another and he hissed and howled in agony.  
  
"I'm only gonna ask this once more, 'n then I'm gonna get pissed. Who sent you?" She moved her free hand to his neck, shifting so that her knee came down hard on his groin, putting pressure on too many sensitive spots on the man's injured body for him to resist for long.   
  
"Dietz!" He gasped out, groaning in pain. "His name is Dietz!"  
  
Max lifted an eyebrow calmly, digging her knee that much deeper into his broken body. "Pointer Dietz?"  
  
"YES! Lady, please!"  
  
She sighed and got to her feet, watching the man curl into the fetal position, hissing as his broken ribs shifted inside him. A small glint of satisfaction shone in her eyes, too much the soldier to let a victory pass by unnoticed.   
  
"So, now you're gonna tell me exactly where I can find our dear old friend, Mr. Dietz." Her voice was calm and sweet, sounding very much the teenaged girl she appeared to be, but underneath, her words were a veiled threat the man couldn't ignore. He nodded pathetically, flinching as Max moved closer.   
  
Alec stood and watched Max work. Back at Manticore, the intruders would be strung up and beaten until every last piece of information contained in their little brains was fully displayed for intelligence briefing. Instead of beating him further, however, Max stood over him, as if her presence were enough to force the man to betray his employer, and Alec waited with suppressed amusement to see how the game would play out. Max glanced over at him only when Alec's foot connected with the head of one of the men lying on the floor near the male X5. Alec shrugged in response to her raised eyebrow.  
  
"He moved."  
  
Max looked down at the man at her feet, using her foot to prod his head to the side enough so that he was looking at her. "Are you really gonna make me ask you again? 'Cause I just spent the entire night sittin' here, waitin' for you morons to show, with him." Her head twitched towards Alec's direction. "And believe me, after spending four hours alone with him, I'm not in the mood to be gentle." Her left foot found the man's fingers as he remained on the floor and slowly she began to lower her weight onto his digits. "As a matter of fact, I'm in a bitch, 'n I really wanna get back to my vacation, so the faster you tell me what I wanna know, the faster my ass is out that door, 'n you're free to go."  
  
When the man didn't respond right away, preferring to whimper his pain rather than speak his mind, Max sighed. Her weight increased upon his fingers, making the man cry out, but she didn't flinch. This is what she was created to do.  
  
"Just so you know, I'm getting bored now. The longer you make me wait, the worse this will end for you. After all, I have all night."  
  
Alec's eyes searched to meet those of Max in surprise as she increased the pressure on the man's hand, and Alec's sensitive hearing picked up the crackle of breaking bones. Although Max's body was slight, her muscles were engineered to be stronger and faster than those of an ordinary human. If she wanted to, she could break every bone in a human's body without breaking a sweat. Although Alec wouldn't be admitting it to Max any time soon, her behavior that night both impressed and pained him. The first time he'd met Max back in Manticore, he'd been struck by the humanity that existed within her; sure, at the time he took it as a weakness, as he had many of her other attributes since that day, but actually witnessing that cold, dead look in her eyes chilled him. He found something inside him wanted to stop her from going any further, but he kept his mouth shut. No mercy. That's what Manticore had always drilled into him. Alec hoped Max would remember to stop before the point of no return.  
  
As it had struck Zack so many months before, it struck Alec now. This wasn't the life Max was meant to lead; she was different from all of them, but she still held the instincts deep within her heart. Once those instincts were released, would Max remember the human that existed inside the soldier? Or would Manticore win after all?  
  
The man cried out one final time as Max's foot continued to grind down the bones in his hand. He cracked then, spilling out the location of Pointer Dietz, how much he'd been paid to take out Max and any friends she had hanging around her, and exactly what he knew of Dietz and his plot to destroy Eyes Only.  
  
Max sighed, leaving the broken man on the floor in a pool of blood, stepping over the carnage as her eyes showed no emotion. She gestured for Alec to follow her as she exited the apartment, taking her bike and moving down the stairs at a speed even Alec had to struggle to maintain.  
  
"Where to now, Max?"  
  
"To take out Dietz once and for all."   
  
As Alec assimilated the cold, toneless words, Max pulled a cell phone out of her leather jacket and dialed Logan's number. Alec listened to Max's side of the conversation, noting she left out many of the details of the fight, including how she got the information regarding Dietz's location, and Alec was left to wonder if she even realized who she became when these situations confronted her. The conversation was over in minutes, including none of the sweet, loving words he'd expected to hear and was prepared to comment upon; instead, Alec was surprised to hear a quick, "Late," before the phone clicked shut and Max turned to look at him expectantly.  
  
"You waitin' for an engraved invitation?"  
  
She gunned the engine of the bike as Alec reluctantly climbed on the back. He sincerely hoped that this would be over quickly; he didn't like this new Max in the least.  
  
End Part Fourteen: Soldier in Girl's Clothing 


	15. Part 15

A/N: Okay, no real author's note here... just my standard disclaimer. :P Oh, and to ask you to all forgive me once more. I really don't have the knack for writing action sequences, at least not the knock 'em down shoot 'em up action scenes... ;P But, hey, at least I tried. :)  
  
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.  
  
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P  
  
They're not mine, I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P  
  
  
  
Towards the Sunset  
  
  
Part Fifteen: Fight Till the End  
  
  
By: Danae Bowen  
  
  
Email: logansfox@rogers.com  
  
  
  
Logan paced the penthouse, his nerves making his stomach clutch and his jaw twitch tensely. Joshua looked through the skylight, frowning as he watched the man below radiate unease.  
  
"Worried for Max?"  
  
Logan nodded absently, his fingers coming up to stroke his scruff as he paced to the window, looking out. He jumped slightly in surprise as Joshua dropped through the skylight, landing with a loud thump on the hallway floor. He grinned up at Logan sheepishly before straightening, towering over Logan even as the human pulled himself up to his entire height.  
  
"Yeah, Joshua, I'm worried about Max. This guy she's going after is dangerous, he's proven that already. He's been out of jail less than a month and yet this entire operation is too well planned to be a haphazard idea that he'd just developed." Logan shook his head. "The worst part is, he knows who I am, and unless I can talk to him, I'm never going to know how he found out." The man shrugged as he followed Joshua, the transgenic peering curiously around the large apartment, his eyes settling on the refrigerator. Logan sighed, moving to begin pulling out containers of food, beginning preparations to feed his newest bodyguard. "I guess it doesn't matter; if he had any solid evidence, he'd have just turned me in and saved himself all this trouble."  
  
Joshua came up behind Logan and laid a large hand on the man's shoulder. "Max got your back, Joshua, too. Little fella'll be sure nothing happens to Logan." Joshua grinned, and gave Logan a wink. "Not in the plan."  
  
Logan chuckled. "One day you're going to have to tell me all about this great plan everyone keeps talking about."  
  
Joshua lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Plan to make Max happy." He nodded vigorously. "Virus bitch kicked, Max 'n Logan gettin' busy, Max gettin' happy. That's the plan."  
  
Logan's laughter continued; the one thing he could say about Max's friends, both transgenic and human, were that they were nothing if not interesting. "Did Original Cindy teach you the plan, Joshua?"  
  
"Sista." Joshua grinned widely. "Home girl. Boo. Gotta have plan or what's a girl to do?"  
  
Logan lifted an eyebrow, and began to laugh harder. Obviously, Max hadn't been lax in allowing Cindy to hang around with her and Joshua. "Joshua, when all this is over, you and I have to have a little talk, otherwise Max and Cindy are going to have you brainwashed."  
  
Joshua's hand lifted to his head, rubbing thoughtfully through his shaggy hair, but he shrugged. He lifted his head to indicate the skylight, before moving beneath it and taking a great leap into the air, dangling from the edge of the window, thrusting his body up and through to the roof. A moment later his head appeared once more, and he flashed Logan a grin. "Gotta blaze. Logan safe now; Joshua help Max."  
  
Logan frowned, turned, and grabbed his jacket. "Joshua, wait. I'm going with you."  
  
Joshua shook his head, frowning. "Logan safe in home, not where Max is."  
  
"Joshua, you don't even know where Max is going."  
  
The transgenic sniffed the air and cocked his head at the human looking up at him. "Joshua find Max; special scent."  
  
Logan couldn't argue with that, but still he stubbornly stared down the larger man. "Joshua, I'm going anyway; you'll find Max faster if you go with me. I'll drive us. Otherwise, I'll go alone, and I will get there before you."  
  
Joshua held Logan's gaze for a moment, his brow furrowing as he considered his options. He whimpered a low whine, wondering how Max would take it if Logan arrived without Joshua in tow, and he sighed. "You drive." He shook his head. "Logan stubborn like Max. Joshua's older, knows more, but neither listens."  
  
"What can I say? We belong together." Logan grinned, picked up the car keys and made his way out of the penthouse down to the garage. Joshua met him downstairs, and climbed into the passenger side of the Aztec.   
  
Together they left the building and began to make their way towards Max and Alec. Sitting around was no longer an option, not when Logan knew they could be of help.  
  
*****  
  
Max made her way silently across the roof of the warehouse, Alec walking along behind her, rolling his eyes at her stealth.   
  
"Max," he hissed, quietly. "No one is going to hear us if we walk normally. The roof isn't paper thin, you know."  
  
She sighed, forcing herself to count to ten before turning to reply. "But if we move silently then we have less of a chance of being heard. God, did you flunk every course at Manticore?"  
  
"No. I just don't care anymore."  
  
Max closed her eyes for a brief moment, concentrating on reigning in her temper. There were few people in the world that could annoy her as thoroughly as Alec. "Fine, get your ass caught. I'm not saving you."  
  
"Who asked you to anyway?"  
  
"Always seems to end up that way."  
  
"Not from where I'm standing."  
  
Max glanced down at the roof and drew in a hissing breath. "Yeah, well keep standing on that skylight and we won't have to finish this argument 'cause you're gonna get your ass shot off!"  
  
Alec looked down and pulled a face, moving forward three feet until he was off the glass. "You could have told me that earlier."  
  
"What am I, your baby sitter?"  
  
"Are we going to get this over with, or stand here arguing all night?"  
  
Max's breath hissed out between her teeth, but she forced her mind to concentrate on the task at hand. With one final glare at Alec, Max moved to the other side of the roof, pulling open an air vent and slipping her small body through the opening. Before she disappeared into the darkness, her hand came up, indicating that Alec should move diagonally across from her and enter through the stairwell. Silently. He nodded casually and moved away from her, disappearing from view only minutes before Max's head dropped below the sight line of the roof.  
  
Once inside, Max turned her head to listen for any sign of life in the warehouse below. From the voices nearby, Max knew she was up against at least ten men, and concentrated on trying to pick out their relative positions. She pulled the grate away from the ceiling, silently dropping her head through as she scanned the area below. Her eyes traveled to the roof door, and through the small window she could see Alec getting his bearings as well. His hand came up, indicating that there were two guards to Max's right, and she turned her head, nodding as they came into her view. She signaled for Alec to draw them towards him and quickly he opened and closed the door, allowing the dim sound of metal on metal to alert the guards to his presence.  
  
Max watched from her higher vantage point as the guards turned towards the stairwell, frowning before moving forward. In mere seconds, Max dropped her body through the vent opening and took out the guards as silently as possible. A cock of the head to Alec had him by her side, pulling the guards towards the stairwell, tying and gagging them securely so that they'd not be a problem at a later time. When voices approached from the turn in the hallway, Max signaled for Alec to remain in the stairwell, and a quick leap had her once again concealed in the ceiling.   
  
The men that approached gave a relatively uninterested glance down the hallway, not even taking note of the missing guards. Alec caught Max's eye, raising his hands in a request for orders. Max shrugged, her face betraying her disgust at the stupidity of the guards, and signaled for Alec to repeat his actions from earlier.  
  
Once again the stairwell opened and closed, and once again the men walked forward, not looking up until it was too late to keep from being thrown backwards when Max dropped down upon them. Alec was at her side in an instant, and again the two genetically enhanced soldiers easily overpowered the guards.  
  
"Morons!" Max mouthed in disbelief.  
  
Alec shrugged and leaned in close to her, his words the barest of whispers in her ear. "It's amazing what money won't buy you these days."   
  
They moved down the hallway silently, listening for the source of voices that reached their sensitive ears. Quickly moving her fingers, Max indicated that the four they took out were of no more than ten or twelve, leaving only six to eight guards remaining. Alec nodded, motioning for Max to head left while he'd go right; between the two of them they should have the guards contained in only minutes. Max agreed silently, but added in that he was to go as quietly as possible; she didn't need guards coming at them when they still had the element of surprise on their side.  
  
Alec disappeared down the right corridor while Max turned down the left. She kept her body pressed against the wall, her black cat suit allowing her to blend into the shadows easily. A door opened in front of her, and Max had to keep a quiet gasp of surprise from slipping between her teeth. She pressed her body hard back, using the open door for cover until the man that exited the room beyond turned away from her, allowing the door to slam shut. With a shrug, Max came up behind him, wrapping her arm around his throat and her hand covered his mouth. With his oxygen being cut off by the strength of a transgenic, he was soon unconscious, and Max dragged him back into the room he'd just vacated, using his clothing to bind his arms and legs, gagging him silent.  
  
Five down, five to seven to go, she reminded herself. She suddenly wished they'd had better intel on the warehouse she was now sneaking through so that she could get a more accurate count of the men that waited for her at the end of the corridor. She glanced up at the ceiling, noting another air vent opening. Ten feet further another opening appeared, and ten feet past that another opening could be seen. She frowned a moment, chewing on her lip. She took a quick leap, her fingers catching the edges of the ceiling easily, had her feet plunging through the air vent. She landed on her stomach, flipping over as fast as possible to catch the grating that was about to fall past her to the floor. She caught the corner of the mesh plate, dangling it in the corridor for a single moment before bringing it silently back into the vent and replacing it, covering any evidence of her arrival. She waited motionless for several minutes until she was sure no guards were coming to check on the noises she'd made before she began to move forward on her hands and knees.  
  
She moved quickly but silently, her small body easily able to maneuver in the mere cubic feet of space surrounding her. The vent widened slightly as she passed over the corridor into the main storage space of the warehouse. She paused over a large grate, peering down into the room below; she only had a decent view of ten square feet below her, catching sight of only a single guard. Still, the volume of voices carrying through the vents let her know that there were further men nearby. Heaving a soundless sigh, Max silently worked the grate out of it's plating, moving it into the air vent so that she could extend her view.  
  
She bit her lip as she counted the men below; there were eight guards in the room, nine men when she included the scrawny guy sitting behind a series of computers. She shrugged to herself; at least she knew where to find Dietz, and he certainly didn't appear to be much of a challenge for her revved up genes.  
  
The sound of metal hitting the floor had Max's eyes snap towards the other end of the warehouse. At first she couldn't make out any presence in the shadowed corners, but as her eyes adjusted she could see Alec, frozen in place, his hands holding onto the piece of plywood he'd just almost knocked from a window sill. He caught her eye and shrugged, lowering the wood silently to the floor before straightening.  
  
Most of the guards were centered around Dietz, only the one below her and two nearing Alec's position were close enough for the X-5s to easily take out. Alec looked to Max for instruction and she shrugged. They'd have to reveal their presence at some point or another, but she'd been hoping to have less opposition when that time came. She watched the guards' movements for a moment before motioning for Alec to take down the men closest to him. He nodded, moving silently forward, staying in the shadows until he was right behind the guards.   
  
"Hey, guys. Miss me?" He flashed them a cocky smile before using their turns of surprise against them, knocking them to their backs in a single kick.  
  
Flashes of recognition registered in the remaining men's eyes, and several guards went for their guns as Alec spun quickly, sending one man flying into the three approaching.  
  
When all attention was turned away from Max's position, she dropped soundlessly through the air, dropping on the guard below her. The air whooshed out of his lungs as Max's full weight struck him from behind, and when she climbed from his body, he didn't rise. She grinned, moving towards Alec and the remaining guards, at first keeping an eye on the surprised form of Dietz before losing sight of him as she engaged in the battle at hand.  
  
It only took brief minutes before Max and Alec had all the guards subdued, their enhanced skills and training too much for the merely human henchmen. Alec flashed Max a congratulatory grin, making her roll her eyes once more at the cocky nature of her friend, before she turned around to face Dietz.   
  
She froze in spot, taking in the sight of the gun trained at her head, the crooked smile of the underdeveloped man before her making her shiver. Alec still hadn't noticed, occupying himself with sifting through the bodies of the unconscious men, searching for anything worth lifting. Max cleared her throat.  
  
"Alec, think you wanna turn around now."  
  
He glanced up at her, the word "what" forming on his lips, before taking notice of Dietz and the gun. "Christ, Maxie, what is it with you and getting shot at? I can't take you anywhere."  
  
"Very impressive, Max. I wouldn't have thought such a little thing as yourself could fight as well as you do, of course, I've never had the pleasure of watching you in action before. When you came after me the last time, I was by myself, and admittedly am not much of a fighter. I am, however, an excellent shot."  
  
She sighed. "They always wanna talk." She cocked her head towards Alec. "Ever noticed that? None of them can ever just shoot, then they wonder why they lose."  
  
"Perhaps with you in my grasp, Eyes Only will be more cooperative." Dietz continued, ignoring Max's comment as if she'd never spoken.  
  
"Fine, I'll talk. What the hell, not like I have any thing really pressing to do tonight anyway. By the way, have I thanked you for the vacation? Blowing up Jam Pony was a nice touch; me 'n my peeps appreciate it. A whole month of drinkin' and dancin' without having to worry about work in the morning."  
  
Dietz's eyes narrowed. Having Max acting nonchalant towards his plot was the last thing that he'd expected, and it began to annoy him.  
  
"Don't you even want to know why I'm doing this?"  
  
Max laughed out loud at that, her eyes taking in Dietz's macho stance as he held the gun at chest level. "Y'know, it never ceases to amaze me how holdin' something hard 'n pointy gives guys a false sense of power." She sighed. "There's nothing new about revenge, Dietz. You got pissed we put you behind bars, so here we are. How original."  
  
He stared at her in surprise, his eyes flicking back to his computer screens, all the information he'd gathered on Logan apparently of no interest to Max or Alec. "You don't even want to know why I killed the blonde?"  
  
Max's face sobered at that. "Oh, right, there's a reason I came to take you out."  
  
Alec nudged Max in the ribs. "You really should thank him for Asha, Maxie. He got rid of the competition for you."  
  
Dietz's face paled, as Max shrugged. "Nah, I was lookin' forward to kicking her ass. Guess I'll have to kick his instead."  
  
At that both Max and Alec moved forward at speeds too fast for Dietz to follow. Alec circled around behind him and tapped his shoulder, making the man turn. Max followed through with a quick kick, sending the gun flying out of Dietz's hand, making it clatter and clink as it struck the desk before the floor. All three flinched as the gun fired suddenly from the force of impact, echoing throughout the warehouse, but in moments Dietz was restrained in Alec's arms.  
  
"That was fun." Alec shrugged at Max and grinned.  
  
"Not as much fun as this will be."  
  
Max spun quickly, finding a guard behind her with a gun pointed at Alec. The guard smiled suddenly, a look that didn't reach his eyes as they showed only cold determination. "Nobody rails on me like that twice and lives."  
  
He pulled the trigger and Max dived out of the way of the oncoming bullet. Alec moved quickly, shifting Dietz in his arms as a second shot rang out. Max was on her feet in a second, heading towards the guard, but he was already falling forward, his chest exploding in a single red stain. She looked at him in confusion for a moment as he toppled dead to the ground, and then caught sight of Logan standing in the shadows behind him.  
  
"Logan?!" Max's face darkened; she wasn't impressed to know that Logan could have put himself in more danger than necessary by following her into the warehouse.  
  
"Thought we could be of some help. Turns out we were right." He gave her a small smile, nodding towards Joshua who was tying up the beaten guards as they began to regain consciousness.  
  
"Um, oops."  
  
They all turned towards Alec who was holding Dietz's limp body in his arms. He shrugged at them, dropping the man to the floor and began trying to wipe the blood out of his shirt. "Must've accidentally put him in front of the bullet."  
  
"Accidentally?"  
  
Alec flashed Max his most innocent expression and repeated his shrug. "This was your fight, Max. I'm just along for the ride. Not my place to kill anyone not trying to return the favor."  
  
Max sighed. "Right."  
  
"Hey, no harm done. We're all still kicking, bad guy's not. We win. Where's the victory cheer?"  
  
Max shook her head and turned back to Logan. "Want to call this into Matt? We should've time to wipe Dietz's files of any Eyes Only information and still bounce before the cops get here."  
  
Logan nodded slowly, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, dialing the number of his friend on the force. As he waited for Matt to pick up his line, Logan glanced down at Dietz's cooling body. "Did he say why he did it?"  
  
Max and Alec exchanged a look and Max rolled her eyes. "Figure it was a vengeance thing. Pretty simple if you ask me. He caught wind of some info, tried to use it against you, died. Story of our lives."  
  
Max realized how cold she sounded, but as much as she loved her strange little life, sometimes she got tired of a new baddie every week trying to take everything away from her. For the last two years, she had been concerned that Manticore or a similar agency would try to use Logan to get to her, so she kept her distance. Just as they were starting to really click, some lunatic throws a wrench in the plan and tries to use her to get to Logan. Either way they look at it, the world was against them. It kinda sucked when she really thought about it; they'd fought so hard to stay together, through various dangers, kidnappings, death and the virus, the least the bad guys of the world could do was give them a break.  
  
She moved away from her little group, pulling herself up to sit on one of the warehouse tables, watching as Logan's fingers worked their magic on Dietz's computer system. She smiled softly as Joshua moved to join her, his eyes following hers until he too watched Logan quietly. Finally, he spoke, slowly as if he was gauging every word carefully.  
  
"Wouldn't stay, needed to make sure you're okay."  
  
Max smiled at his thoughtful words. "I know, big fella. Logan can be stubborn sometimes. Sorry."  
  
"Not mad, little fella." He sighed. "Max 'n Logan together now?"  
  
She shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."  
  
"Stayin' together?"  
  
"For a while at least. We'll see."  
  
"Don't let them win." His voice was dead serious as he shifted to meet her gaze. "Long fight, good fight, but always someone coming for Max or for Logan, always fighting. Don't let them win."  
  
Her lips curved into a warm smile; she moved over to rest her head on his shoulder, and she sighed. "I promise that we'll try, big fella." She picked her head up and gave him a firm grin, her eyes sparkling. "Anyway, we can't let them win." When his gaze grew confused, she chuckled softly and patted his arm. "It's not in the plan."  
  
Joshua's body shook with laughter causing Alec and Logan to look over at them in confusion. Max only grinned at them, shaking her head. She knew that there would always be someone coming for one or the other of them, not just Logan and herself, but for Joshua and Alec as well. As much as she wanted to kick Alec's ass to Canada and back, he was a part of her life now and she cared what happened to him. Then there was sweet Joshua who would never be given the chance to live a normal life. He'd always be dependant on Max to bring him food, always having to hide in the shadows, and would always have to live in some place he'd never be seen. Unless some miracle came to be, Joshua would never know true love, never see his children grow up, and never truly exist out of the basement at Manticore. Everywhere he went, Joshua had to be hidden away and that was unfair. As much as Zack, Tinga and the rest were her siblings, so was Joshua, in some ways more so than the kids she'd escaped with so many years before. She understood finally how Zack felt about them all, why he created the contact number, why he was always on her case to disappear. She was doing the same thing for Joshua, protecting him, making him her responsibility for far more than just the things he really needed her to do. The situation with Isaac had nothing if not proven Joshua's ability to make the right decisions, but she couldn't bring herself to leave him alone in the world to be misunderstood and mistreated.   
  
Then there were Logan and Max, themselves. Max couldn't see a day when they weren't going to be in danger; she couldn't see a time when they weren't working together to try and fix the city that lay in ruins around them. It's who they are and what they do, and more importantly, it's what brought them together and allowed them to see the life that was waiting for them.  
  
Logan met her thoughtful gaze and smiled at her, making her stomach flip flop and the now familiar warm feeling spread throughout her body. It was worth it, she figured. Eyes Only gave Logan a sense of being, even if he wasn't recognized for the work to which he dedicated his life; Manticore would always be a part of Max, but without it, she wouldn't exist to know that life didn't always suck.   
  
In the end, it would all work out. Whether she and Logan would still be together when that end came, she didn't know, and for the first time, she could honestly say that it really didn't matter. The future was so completely uncertain for them all; maybe it was time to start living in the present. The kisses, touches, and time they shared together now would make whatever happened tomorrow worth the effort.  
  
Needing to lighten her mood, Max raised her voice, even though she knew her intended target would hear her at any volume. "Hey, Alec, we never gotta finish our game. What were you thinkin' of?"  
  
Alec grinned. "After watching you go all commando girl on these poor bastards, I'm not sure I want to tell you now."  
  
She raised an eyebrow, leaning back. "Okay, now you're gonna tell me or I'm gonna beat it outta you." She strained her delicate hearing, trying to understand the mumble that crossed his lips. "A what?"  
  
He sighed. "A banana."  
  
Max blinked, remembering back to their game. "How is a banana dangerous?"  
  
He grinned, then, his eyes sparkling wickedly. "I told you, it depends on how you *use* it."  
  
Her face wrinkled in disgust as images of exactly what Alec had in mind for that banana flowed relentlessly across her mind. He held his hands up in front of himself, defending his body from her glare as he backed away quickly. "I think it's time for me to go."  
  
With that he disappeared into the shadows of the warehouse, and Max tracked the sound of his exit through the corridors until he was safely outside. She sighed and shook her head. She knew she had walked into that one hook line and sinker, but that wasn't about to keep her from kicking his ass royally the next time they crossed paths.  
  
Max jumped down off the table and moved behind Logan, slipping her arms over his, then down around his waist. She rested her chin on his shoulder and watched quietly as he finished clearing Dietz's computer files of any reference to himself, Max or Eyes Only.  
  
When he was done, he turned to look into her eyes and smiled. "Ready?"  
  
She nodded, tightening her hold on him for a brief moment before releasing him and moving away. "You know what, Logan? I think I am."  
  
End Part Fifteen: Fight Till The End 


	16. Part 16

A/N: Well, folks, here you go, the very last part to Towards the Sunset. I do hope you've all enjoyed it, and once again, thank you for all your reviews. I know it was only supposed to be fifteen parts, but I just thought maybe a little shippier ending would be more my style anyway. LOL So, one last shippy little moment for you. :) Thank you all for reading and bearing with me as this poor little thing went through change after change so the posts came in later each night. I look forward to hearing what you all think now that it's all over and done with, so please feel free to contact me either here or by email if you have a mind to. :) Other than that, thank you once again, and take care. :)   
  
There are very mild spoilers for second season in this, but only up to Some Assembly Required, and most of them are only vague allusions to past events.  
  
I welcome all reviews, both here and by email, so please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking. I can't improve my writing if I don't know what people want to see. :P  
  
They're not mine, I just borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun. But Cameron will always own the good stuff. :P  
  
  
  
Towards the Sunset  
  
  
Part Sixteen: Epilogue  
  
  
By: Danae Bowen  
  
  
Email: logansfox@rogers.com  
  
  
  
Cindy came running down the steps of the cottage only seconds after Logan pulled the Aztec into the long driveway. He casually glanced at the front of the cottage, wondering exactly what the walls had seen in the week he and Max had been away, but for Cindy's sake, he stopped his mind from wandering into dangerous territory. He and Max had stayed in town for Asha's funeral, the least that Logan could do for his old friend after all that had happened in the last two weeks. Very few people showed up for the ceremony besides Logan and Max; both, however, were surprised to see Alec there. When questioned, he'd just shrugged, and they didn't have the heart to press the issue. Alec was an enigma in all things, and Logan had a feeling the younger man somewhat enjoyed the aura of mystery that surrounded him.   
  
Logan hadn't quite gotten over the guilt that still ate at his heart when it came to Asha's demise, but Max's continual reminders that he wasn't solely responsible had begun to sink in. The person he should be blaming died in Alec's arms a week previous; he only hoped that the remorse he felt would soon follow Dietz's example and quickly expire. Asha had been a good friend, but she was gone now; it was Max on whom Logan now had to concentrate.  
  
As to Dietz, himself, Matt had emailed Logan to inform him of the cleanup operation on the warehouse. Dietz's body had been removed, and the other men involved taken into custody. Max's apartment was also investigated, but most of the men the X-5s had over come were already gone. Logan and Max weren't overly worried on that front, however. Dietz had been the brains of the operation; with him out of the picture, they didn't figure they'd be faced with any repercussions any time soon.  
  
Now, back in Canada once more, Max barely had opened her door before Cindy was pulling her out of the car and into her arms for a hug.  
  
"Y'all took long enough to get your butts back here! Was startin' to think I'd be hitchin' home in the back of some dirty ass truck. Where you been, boo?"  
  
Max grinned and let Original Cindy hug her before turning to peer at Logan. He sighed, and looked at the back of the car with a pained expression. "Go on, I'll get the bags." She flashed him a look of gratitude and disappeared into the house with Cindy as Logan shook his head. "Some things will never change," he supposed out loud as he hefted their heavy bags out of the car and began teetering up the steps to the front deck.  
  
Inside Max filled Cindy in on the events of the past few days, telling her about the operation to take out Dietz, stumbling softly over the words when it came time to tell Cindy that their living room had been pretty badly shot up in the original invasion. Cindy sighed and shook her head.  
  
"Girl, hangin' with you is hard on my cribs, know what I'm sayin'?"  
  
Max laughed. "Yeah. Logan's offered to help fix it up. Was a dive anyway."  
  
"But it was our dive." Cindy paused. "So you bailin' on Original Cindy, boo? Goin' off to Logan's tower in the sky 'n leaving your home girl to fend for herself?"  
  
Max shook her head, dropping onto a sofa in the family room. "Dunno. Not for a while anyway."  
  
Cindy raised an eyebrow. "Why not? Fancy place, hot water, great guy, all the sex you could want, what's the dealio?"  
  
Max blushed but shrugged softly. "How long did I know Darren before I moved in with him?"  
  
"Big difference there, boo. Logan's not a pansy-assed, shit for brains loser."  
  
The younger girl chuckled and drew her knees up to her chest. "Yeah, well, I guess I kinda wanna do this right, y'know?"  
  
"Ah, Original Cindy's gettin' ya now. My boo's looking to get herself hooked up with some romance. You want the dates, with all the flowers 'n candy 'n shit, 'n the mystery that comes when you bounce in the mornings to head home. Probably even want the chance to turn down a date or two 'fore you give it all up for one guy."  
  
Max shrugged. "Yeah, 'n I guess I wanna hear the words too."  
  
"Damn, girl, he's not coughed up the commitment yet?"  
  
"He probably doesn't think I'm ready to hear them."  
  
"Are you?"  
  
"Honestly?"  
  
"Hey, this is Original Cindy you talkin' at. You not honest with me, Max, I'll hafta kick your ass, 'n seeing's you're my best boo, that'd pain me." Cindy nudged her shoulder into Max's and afforded the girl a grin. "Tell me the truth, girl."  
  
"No. I'm not ready. I'm ready to see where this goes, but beyond that…"  
  
"I hear ya. Fun now, serious later."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Logan thumped into the room with his and Max's bags, dropping them in a heap on the floor before collapsing into a chair, wondering why both women were looking at him in such a thoughtful manner.  
  
"What?"  
  
Max grinned. "Nothing. We were just sayin' we're hungry's all. No big dealio."  
  
Logan narrowed his eyes as he looked at her, trying to find the joke in her statement but seeing nothing beyond the obvious words. He shrugged. "What are you in the mood for?"  
  
Max looked over to Original Cindy, who shrugged. "He's your man, you tell me what's good. Original Cindy's not used to this kinda treatment."  
  
Logan frowned deeper. "Why do I feel like I've just walked into the wrong conversation?"  
  
Max laughed, shaking her head. "Relax, we're definitely talking about food. And Alec thinks *my* mind's in the gutter." She grinned, leaning back as she eyed Logan thoughtfully. "Pizza. And lots of it."  
  
Logan's gaze remained suspicious as he left the room, getting the cordless from the kitchen and dialing a local pizza parlor. He didn't miss the fits of giggles that issued from the other room and he wondered exactly what he'd done this time to set the girls off.   
  
Of course, standing in the kitchen, he missed the reason for the laughter. Max and Original Cindy had watched as Logan left to order the pizza, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket without blinking. Cindy raised her eyebrow, and nodded as if in satisfaction.  
  
"Boy's a keeper, boo. Gonna get us the grub and cough up the dough for it. Y'ain't never gonna hear Original Cindy complainin' about a squeeze toy like that."  
  
Max had frowned, crossing her arms over her chest, leaning back to send Cindy a mock glare. "You're not gonna switch teams and steal my guy are you?"  
  
"If Original Cindy was gonna switch for any boy, sugar, which by the way ain't in the cards, you'd be in for some definite competition. 'Cause what Original Cindy wants, Original Cindy gets."  
  
Max had laughed then, knocking Cindy in the knee lightly with her foot, her eyes sparkling. "So why's it that Original Cindy ain't got no boo to warm her sheets tonight?"  
  
"You cold, girl."  
  
"So I've been told." They stared at each other for a minute before dissolving into the laughter at which Logan had grown suspicious.  
  
He ordered their pizzas and returned to the family room, leaving the cash for the order on the kitchen table. As he sat down, he stared at the bags he still had to put away in his bedroom but couldn't find the energy to pick them up just yet. His eyes carried up to the girls who were still smothering smiles.  
  
"Didn't I tell you to stay out of the liquor cabinet?" He scolded with a half grin.  
  
"Sugar, you know your girl's got the heart of an Ice Queen? Bitch came down on me 'bout not havin' a lickety chick in town. You know any local hotties you'd hook up wit' your girls best boo?"  
  
Logan's eyebrows raised and he held up his hands as if defending himself. "I'm afraid I really don't know anyone in town anymore, much less their sexual preferences. Guess you're on your own."  
  
"Damn, was afraid of that. Gonna hafta listen to y'all gettin' happy for the next two weeks, 'n not get any of my own. That's gotta be illegal somewhere."  
  
Logan winked. "You could always hit the beach at the resort up the road. There always used to be groups of attractive women sunbathing there. God knows what their choices are, but they do have money."  
  
Cindy's eyes shone interest at that, and she nodded. "Definitely a keeper, girl."  
  
Logan shook his head and turned on the television, tossing the remote to Max before climbing to his feet and moving their things into his room. He had a feeling it was going to be an extremely long, but interesting two weeks.  
  
*****  
  
Logan knew Max watched him when he slept. He'd awakened many times in the last week to find her warm brown eyes on his face, her fingers making his body her own, and it never bothered him. Quite the opposite in fact; waking up to find her watching him with such love in her eyes, knowing that she could have easily gotten out of bed to find something to occupy her time rather than lying still hours through the night, proved to him that whatever Max had going through her head, she loved him.  
  
That night it was his turn to watch her. She'd fallen asleep on the sofa somewhere in the middle of a late night movie they'd found showing on a local television station. She'd changed earlier into one of his favorite sweatshirts, the hem of the shirt covering her bare legs to the knees. He'd carried her to bed, ignoring Cindy's pointedly raised eyebrow, snuggling Max down under the covers as she breathed peacefully. She hadn't slept in many days, at least three or four, and by the deep rise and fall of her chest, Logan knew her body needed the rest. He'd slipped out of the exoskeleton and eased himself into the bed next to her, pulling her body snuggly against his, breathing in her scent as he buried his face at the back of her neck.  
  
Now, hours had passed and Logan awoke to find his beauty curled up facing him, a small smile gracing her features as she dreamed peacefully. It was in times like these that Logan was reminded exactly how young Max actually was; all the hardness of her life, all the coldness of her abilities, everything melted away until she was just a peaceful child curled in his arms. Two years ago he would have thought himself a cad for lying in this bed with a girl barely twenty years old, but now he couldn't see his future without her. Not only had Eyes Only found a partner in the lost little soldier that broke into his penthouse a lifetime before, but so had Logan Cale. Now that he had her, there was nothing in the world that could ever convince him to let her go.  
  
*****  
  
Max was conscious of his gaze before her body was even fully awake. She could always feel Logan's eyes on her; no matter where they were or what they were doing, his crystalline orbs always seemed to find their way straight to her heart. She remained motionless for a long time, lying there listening to his silence, knowing that something had him deep in thought as his eyes never strayed from her face. When he didn't seem inclined to stop, she allowed her eyes to flutter open, meeting his blue eyes with her smiling brown.   
  
"Hey." Her words were soft, her voice deepened both by sleep and his body pressed so tightly up against her own.  
  
"Hey, yourself." He reached out a gentle hand and smoothed her hair away from her face, running his knuckles over her soft cheek before lowering his hand once more. "Sweet dreams?"  
  
She smiled, lowering her eyes to his lips before meeting his gaze once more. "The best."  
  
He grinned, his tongue darting out to casually wet his lips as he pondered her words. "Was I in them?"  
  
"When aren't you?" She laughed, pushing him back and settling astride his body, her fingers finding the soft hairs on his chest, caressing him softly.  
  
"Have I ever thanked you for breaking into the penthouse that night, and for sticking around after?" His hands settled on her thighs, stroking her flawless flesh with a loving touch.  
  
"Only when you think you're gonna get lucky." Her grin was lopsided, her eyes warm and welcoming as he raised his touch beneath her sweatshirt.  
  
"Am I right?"  
  
"Nope." His face fell, his fingers stalling on their travels towards her breasts.  
  
"No?"  
  
"Nope." She grinned, leaning down to press a gentle kiss against his pouting lips as her body softly circled against his, ripping a throaty growl from his chest. "I'm the one who got lucky, Logan."  
  
End. 


End file.
